CASSANDRA LATRICIA JOHNSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1996-02-13
No. 95-451
BOOTH and BENTON, JJ., concur., WOLF, J., concurs and dissents with opinion.
668 So. 2d 240 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1996) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Cassandra Johnson appeals the revocation of her probation and 4½-year sentence. The appellate court reverses and remands because evidence was insufficient to support one of three alleged probation violations—that she had changed her residence without consent—since she was hospitalized and then briefly stayed with her mother before returning to her original residence.


Holding

The court held that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that Johnson violated the residence-change condition. The court reversed the probation revocation and remanded for reconsideration of the sentence based on the remaining two violations, as it could not be determined whether the trial judge would have revoked probation or imposed the same sentence based only on those remaining violations.


Headnotes

[1] A probationer's brief absence from their residence, during which their exact whereabouts are unknown but they are hospitalized and then staying with a relative, does not…

[2] A probation violation finding must be supported by sufficient evidence as to each alleged ground for revocation.

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Key Quotes

“By changing her residence without first procuring the consent of her Officer, in that on or about August 11, 1994, the aforesaid did move from her residence of 4506 Ellysee Way, Pensacola, FL, without the consent of her Officer.”

The alleged probation violation that the court found to be unsupported by sufficient evidence.

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Facts & Procedural History

Johnson's probation conditions prohibited changing residence without probation officer consent. On August 8, 1994, Johnson called her officer to repor…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Cassandra Latricia Johnson appeals judgment and sentence imposed following revocation of probation. Following a hearing, the trial judge found that Ms. Johnson had violated probation in three respects, revoked probation, and sentenced her to 4½ years imprisonment. We reverse and remand for reconsideration and, if necessary, resentencing, because evidence adduced as to one of the grounds alleged was insufficient.

The affidavit of violation of probation alleged that Ms. Johnson violated condition (3) of her probation, “[b]y changing her residence without first procuring the consent of her Officer, in that on or about August 11, 1994, the aforesaid did move from her residence of 4506 Ellysee Way, Pensacola, FL, without the consent of her Officer.” Condition (3) provides: “You will not change your residence or employment or leave the county of your residence without first procuring the consent of your Probation Officer.”

At the revocation hearing, Ms. Johnson’s probation officer testified that he did not know of Ms. Johnson’s precise whereabouts from August 11, 1994, until August 15, 1994. The probation officer also testified that Ms. Johnson called on August 8, 1994, and reported that she was in the hospital and that on August 11, 1994, Ms. Johnson left a message with the probation officer’s receptionist that she was staying with her mother. According to the probation officer, Ms. Johnson did not give her mother’s address to the receptionist. Finally, the probation officer testified that Ms. Johnson “showed” on August 15, and at that time he was able to verify that she was residing at her original residence.

In Tobias v. State, 641 So. 2d 194 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), Tobias appealed the trial court’s order revoking his probation based on a finding that he had violated the same condition at issue here. Tobias had been absent from his residence for about a week. The Fourth District reversed stating:

What the evidence established was a violation of Condition 11 — requiring that appellant remain confined to his approved residence — for which he was not charged although such charge would have fit these facts, i.e., where a defendant is gone for a brief period of time but his locations are unknown. The evidence did not support a finding that Condition 3 was violated.

Id. In the present case, the evidence likewise does not support a finding that Ms. Johnson had changed her residence in violation of condition (3) of her probation. She was hospitalized, then at her mother’s house for only a short period of time, and the probation officer stated that on the 15th she was again residing at her original residence. It cannot be determined from the record on appeal whether the trial judge would have revoked Ms. Johnson’s probation or imposed the same sentence based on the remaining violations. Williams v. State, 632 So. 2d 235 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). Accordingly, we reverse and remand. BOOTH and BENTON, JJ., concur. WOLF, J., concurs and dissents with opinion.

Other
WOLF, Judge,

WOLF, Judge,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

I agree that the portion of the order finding a violation of condition (3) must be stricken. Unlike the majority, however, I do not feel that we need to remand the case for potential resentencing. There is no doubt in my mind that the revocation of probation and prison sentence for appellant’s third violation of probation was not a result of her spending four days at her mother’s house after being released from the hospital, but rather was the result of the finding that she had used illegal drugs in violation of her probation. The result reached by the majority will result in needless costs being expended.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Hodges v. State, 262 So. 3d 842 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)
    …ion of probation by changing his residence without first procuring the consent of his probation officer. Tobias v. State, 641 So. 2d 194 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); accord Gauthier v. State, 949 So. 2d 326, 326-27 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Johnson v. State, 668 So. 2d 240, 241 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). Therefore, the trial court erred in finding that Appellant violated his probation by changing his residence without his probation officer’s consent. However, Appellant was also charged with violating his probation by…
  • Thaddeus Johnson v. State, 737 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
    …less, because the court erred in finding that Johnson violated two of the three conditions, the case is remanded for the lower court to consider whether revocation is appropriate based upon a violation of the third condition alone. Johnson v. State, 668 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED. ERVIN, LAWRENCE and BROWNING, JJ, CONCUR.…
  • Isom v. State, 809 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)
    …evidence to support the trial court’s findings that Isom committed the violations. Further, we would affirm even if the state did not meet its burden of proving that Isom had the ability to pay $175 for a polygraph examination. Cf. Johnson v. State, 668 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). AFFIRMED. PETERSON and PLEUS, JJ., concur.…

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