BENJAMIN BILLER, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court held that a special condition of probation requiring abstinence from alcohol must be supported by a record showing a nexus between the prohibited conduct and the crime of conviction, the offender's propensity, or future criminality. The Court quashed the Fourth District's decision upholding an alcohol abstinence condition imposed on a defendant convicted of carrying concealed weapons with no evidence connecting alcohol to his crimes.
A special condition of probation is valid only if the record supports at least one of three circumstances: (1) it has a relationship to the crime of conviction, (2) it relates to conduct that is itself criminal, or (3) it requires or forbids conduct reasonably related to future criminality. The alcohol abstinence condition was invalid because there was no connection between alcohol use and Biller's weapons offenses, adult alcohol use is legal, and the record contained no evidence of Biller's propensity toward alcohol or alcohol-related impairment.
[1] A special condition of probation, when challenged on grounds of relevancy, will only be upheld if the record supports at least one of the following: the condition has a r…
[2] A condition of probation is invalid if it relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal and is not reasonably related to future criminality.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, we believe that a condition is invalid if it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality.”
Establishes the three-part Rodriguez test for validity of special probation conditions that the Court adopted as the correct legal standard
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBenjamin Biller was convicted of carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. At sentencing, the trial judge imposed a special probat…
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GRIMES, Justice.
We review Biller v. State, 604 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), because of its conflict with Stonebraker v. State, 594 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992), Wilkinson v. State, 388 So. 2d 1322 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980), and Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution.
Biller was convicted of carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a concealed weapon and was placed on probation with the special condition that he not use or possess alcoholic beverages. In rejecting Biller’s objection to this condition, the trial judge reasoned that he “should refrain from the ingestion of any alcohol in order not to be in a position in which his judgment would be impaired which would cause him to repeat the activities for which he now stands convicted which results in impaired judgment under these circumstances.”
The district court of appeal acknowledged that there was nothing in the record suggesting any relationship between Bil-ler’s behavior and the use of alcohol. Notwithstanding, the court upheld the challenged condition. The court concluded that in the exercise of discretion the trial judge could properly require abstinence from the use or possession of alcohol as a tool in rehabilitation.
In Rodriguez, the Second District Court of Appeal noted that constitutional rights of probationers are limited by conditions of probation which are desirable for purposes of rehabilitation. The court stated:
In determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, we believe that a condition is invalid if it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality.
Rodriguez, 378 So. 2d at 9. Accord Wilkinson. In Stonebraker, the court invalidated a condition of probation relating to the use of alcohol or visiting premises upon which alcohol or intoxicants were sold. However, the opinion only gave as a reason that such conditions were unrelated to the crime for which the defendant had been convicted and made no reference to the other two circumstances under which Rodriguez would permit a condition to be imposed.
We believe that Rodriguez correctly states the law with respect to special conditions imposed upon individual probationers.1 While the judge need not make a finding, a special condition of probation, when challenged on grounds of relevancy, will only be upheld if the record supports at least one of the circumstances outlined in Rodriguez. With respect to Biller, there was nothing connecting any use of alcohol with the crimes with which he stands convicted, and the use of alcohol by adults is legal. Furthermore, there was nothing in the record, such as information in a presen-tence investigation report, which would suggest that Biller has a propensity towards alcohol or that his judgment becomes impaired as a consequence of using it. Therefore, this condition of probation could not be legally imposed.
We quash the decision below with directions to strike the prohibition against the use or possession of alcohol as a condition of Biller’s probation.
It is so ordered.
BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, MCDONALD, SHAW, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur. . There are many general conditions imposed upon most, if not all, probationers which are broadly directed toward supervision and rehabilitation. The requirements of Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), are not applicable to these conditions.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (90 total)
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Nank v. State, 646 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)…der was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality.” Rodriquez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7, 9 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), approved, Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1993). As noted in Biller, “[wjhile the judge need not make a finding, a special condition of probation, when challenged on grounds of relevancy, will only be upheld if the record supports at least one of the circumstances outlined in Rodriquez…
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Vasquez v. State, 663 So. 2d 1343 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…e court, referring to those conditions not susceptible to a relevancy challenge on a case by ease basis because they are “imposed upon most, if not all, probationers” and are “broadly directed toward supervision and rehabilitation.” Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734, 735 n. 1 (Fla.1993). The term “general conditions” in this context has a broader meaning than when the term “general conditions” is used to refer to those conditions which are statutorily-based and need not be orally pronounced to be valid conditio…
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Greenwood v. State, 754 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…t denied the objections, and this appeal follows. Appellant first argues that conditions 17, 21, 23, 24 and 25 were improperly imposed because they were not “reasonably related” to the offense for which he was sentenced, relying on Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1993). However, Biller is limited in its application to special conditions of probation or community control. As appellant concedes, all five conditions [*160] are authorized by section 948.03(5), Florida Statutes (1997). Therefore, they are ge…
Previewing 3 of 90 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)
- Carlton Everett Wilkinson, Jr. v. State, 388 So. 2d 1322 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)
- Towner v. State, 594 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- Biller v. State, 604 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)