JAMES STEPHENS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1995-09-05
No. 94-1018
MICKLE, J., concurs., WEBSTER, J., concurs in result.
659 So. 2d 1303 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1995) Caution
Cited by 17 cases

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Synopsis

James Stephens appeals a probation condition prohibiting him from residing with any female to whom he is not married or related, imposed following his conviction for violating a domestic violence injunction. The First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding the condition overbroad because it is not reasonably related to his crime, does not relate to conduct inherently criminal, and is not reasonably related to future criminality.


Holding

The condition is invalid because it fails all three criteria established in Biller v. State: it has no relationship to the crime of conviction, it relates to conduct not itself criminal, and it is not reasonably related to future criminality. The court reversed and remanded with instructions to amend the probation order.


Headnotes

[1] A condition of probation is invalid if it has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and re…

[2] A special condition of probation is invalid if it is not reasonably related to rehabilitation.

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Key Quotes

“a special condition of probation, when challenged on grounds of relevancy, will only be upheId if the record supports at least one of the circumstances outlined in Rodriguez”

Establishes the legal test that all three Rodriguez/Biller criteria must be satisfied for a probation condition to be valid

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Facts & Procedural History

Stephens pleaded no contest to indirect criminal contempt in January 1992 for violating an injunction prohibiting contact with his former girlfriend. …

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Opinion of the Court
VAN NORTWICK, Judge.

VAN NORTWICK, Judge.

James Stephens appeals an order of probation, challenging as overbroad a condition of probation which prohibits him from residing with any female to whom he is not married or related. Because this condition of probation is not reasonably related to the crime for which Stephens was convicted, forbids conduct not reasonably related to future criminality, and is not reasonably related to conduct which is in itself criminal, we reverse.

In January 1992, Stephens pled no contest to indirect criminal contempt for violating an injunction which enjoined him from threatening, harassing, assaulting or harming his for mer girlfriend and from coming -within 100 yards of her residence or employment. He was adjudicated guilty and was fined. Approximately a year and a half later, Stephens again pled no contest to violating the same injunction. He was sentenced to probation for six months, with the condition that appellant have no contact with the former girlfriend.

In December 1993, Stephens was accused of violating this probation by following the victim and her daughter, by coming to her apartment, and by making threatening telephone calls. Stephens pled no contest to the probation violation and was sentenced to nine months in jail to be followed by a total of 18 months probation. In addition, the trial court ordered Stephens to obtain counseling and, as the tenth condition of probation, imposed the following special condition: “[Y]ou cannot live with a female unless married to her or related (mother or sister).”

“[T]he hidden epidemic of domestic violence,” Lawton Chiles, Taking Domestic Violence Seriously, 68 FlaJB.J. 20 (1994), is a serious public safety and criminal justice problem which requires the courts to use a full range of available resources and tools. See, Lynn Tepper, The Court’s Role in Ending Family Violence, 68 Fla.B.J. 30 (1994). Although we believe that trial courts may and should use conditions of probation to protect victims of domestic abuse from future violent acts, to prevent future abusive criminal conduct, and to assist in rehabilitation, we agree that the special condition imposed here is invalidly broad.

The United States Supreme Court has recognized that “the freedom to enter into and carry on certain intimate or private relationships is a fundamental element of liberty protected by the Bill of Rights” and that “[t]he First Amendment protects those relationships, including family relationships, that presuppose ‘deep attachments and commitments to the necessarily few other individuals with whom one shares not only a special community of thoughts, experiences and beliefs but also distinctively personal aspects of one’s life.’ ” Board of Directors of Rotary Int’l v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 481 U.S. 537, 545, 107 S.Ct. 1940, 1945, 95 L.Ed.2d 474 (1987), quoting Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609, 619-620,104 S.Ct. 3244, 3250-3251, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984).

Nevertheless, the Florida Supreme Court has determined that the “constitutional rights of probationers are limited by conditions of probation which are desirable for purposes of rehabilitation,” Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1993), and that “[a] trial court has the authority to impose any valid condition of probation which would serve a useful rehabilitative purpose.” Hines v. State, 358 So. 2d 183, 185 (Fla.1978).

Thus, trial courts have broad discretion to impose various conditions of probation, but a condition of probation cannot be imposed if it is not reasonably related to rehabilitation. Nank v. State, 646 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); Coulson v. State, 342 So. 2d 1042, 1043 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977).

The court in Biller ruled that, in determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, 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.” Biller, 618 So. 2d at 734—735, quoting Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7, 9 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979).

The Biller court made it clear that all Rodriguez factors must be present to hold a special probation condition invalid when it stated that “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.” Biller, 618 So. 2d at 735 (emphasis added).

We conclude that the special condition of probation imposed below meets all three Biller criteria and is, therefore, invalid. Biller, id.; Brodus v. State, 449 So. 2d 941 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). In Brodus, the court struck a condition of probation which provid ed that the defendant “must not live with [a] member of [the] opposite sex that is not [a] relative_” 449 So. 2d at 942. The Brodus court found that this probation condition was invalid under all three Rodriguez criteria. Admittedly, the instant case appears distinguishable from Brodus, since the defendant in Brodus had been placed on probation following a conviction for possession of marijuana, a crime totally unrelated to the probation condition.

However, any connection between the condition of probation here and Stephens’ domestic violence criminal offenses is merely superficial.

The record here reflects that, since 1992, Stephens’ criminal acts towards his girlfriend have occurred when they were not living together.

Thus, there is no evidence to establish that his violent behavior is related to his cohabitation with the victim. Because cohabitation with a female is not rationally related to his criminal conduct, the condition prohibiting cohabitation is an overly broad special condition of probation under the first Biller criteria. Similarly, the condition of probation at issue also is not reasonably related to future criminality under the third Biller criteria.

As to the second Biller criteria, the condition of probation imposed below clearly covers conduct which is not necessarily in itself criminal. Living with a member of the opposite sex with whom one is not married or related by blood or marriage does not necessarily constitute a violation of the law. Brodus, 449 So. 2d at 942; Mays v. State, 349 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). In addition, as worded, the challenged condition cannot be viewed as simply a requirement that appellant is to abide by the law,1 because it also prohibits the so-called “innocent roommate” situation discussed in Brodus. Id. Compare, Miller v. State, 520 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

Accordingly, the special condition imposed below as the tenth condition of probation is invalid under Biller. We REVERSE and REMAND with the instruction that the order of probation be amended in accordance with this opinion.

MICKLE, J., concurs.

WEBSTER, J., concurs in result.

. Section 798.02, Florida Statutes (1993), prohibits any man and woman, who are not married to each other, from "lewdly and lasciviously” associating and cohabitating with each other.


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Cited By

  • Rennie Carty v. State, 79 So. 3d 239 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
    …erer’s intervention program as a special condition of Appellant’s probation. The trial court has broad discretion in imposing conditions of probation, but to be valid, the condition must be “reasonably related to rehabilitation.” Stephens v. State, 659 So. 2d 1303, 1304 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). “In determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, ... a condition is invalid if it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct wh…
  • Trent v. State, 770 So. 2d 1272 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
    …ts to determine whether this new special condition has any relationship to the original criminal conduct of Appellant and therefore this Court is unable to conclude that the imposition of this special condition was not proper. See Stephens v. State, 659 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order sentencing Appellant to a new five (5)year term of probation, for the offense of Scheme to Defraud, with a special condition that he not engage directly or indirectly in the draper…
  • Milo Fred James, III v. State, 696 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
    …year-old wife is unrelated to the crime of lewd act in the presence of a child under the age of 16. Future contact with his lawful wife does not constitute criminal behavior, nor is it reasonably related to future criminality. See Stephens v. State, 659 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 1st DCA, 1995) (striking conditions prohibiting cohabitation because unrelated to prior domestic abuse). Because all of the Rodriguez factors are satisfied, we conclude that the condition prohibiting Mr. James from having contact with his wife…

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