Criminal Defense Includes Challenging Unfair Probation Conditions

San Jose Criminal Defense Lawyer And Santa Clara Adult Probation Attorney

A criminal defense attorney does more than assist a client in defending their innocence. If a client is found guilty of an offense, a skilled defense attorney can help ensure a defendant is treated fairly at sentencing. Just because someone made a mistake and got into trouble, that does not give the state a license to act without regard for the law.

Curfews for Adult Drug Offenders

A recent case from Alameda County illustrates the importance of holding prosecutors and sentencing judges accountable for their actions. The defendant, in this case, was driving his truck on Interstate 880 when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over for a traffic violation. During the stop, the defendant admitted he had used a controlled substance within the past two hours. The officer then searched the truck and found illegal drugs and a firearm. Prosecutors charged the defendant with 14 criminal offenses. The parties eventually negotiated a plea agreement. The defendant entered a “no contest” plea to felony possession of cocaine and a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.

The trial court sentenced the defendant to five years’ probation. The probation officer recommended 18 conditions for the defendant’s probation, including a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The defendant’s attorney objected to this condition, arguing it was not part of the plea bargain negotiated with the prosecution and that a curfew was a “substantial burden” on an adult.

The judge agreed to the condition, however, reasoning that in his experienced most DUI and drug cases involved conduct “in the middle of the night,” and that given the defendant’s history of drug addiction it was “reasonable and sensible” to impose a curfew.

Punishment Should Fit the Crime

The California First District Court of Appeal disagreed with the trial judge’s assessment. In a published opinion, the appeals court held the “curfew condition is invalid” under California law. The First District said the curfew “bears no relationship to the offenses” to which the defendant pleaded no-contest.

It is “not a crime for an adult to be outside between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” the Court observed. Nor does the sentencing judge’s “anecdotal” belief that certain crimes are more likely to occur at night grounds for imposing an adult curfew. Additionally, the prosecution could not cite any prior California case where a curfew was considered a valid probation condition “for an adult convicted of drug and driving-related offenses.”

Get Help From a San Jose Criminal Defense Attorney

It should be noted, however, that curfews are frequently a condition of probation in California juvenile delinquency cases. But even minors have due process rights. For example, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose recently modified a curfew imposed against a minor defendant in a robbery case. The Sixth District said the curfew should “include an exception in the event the minor is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.”

Whether you are an adult charged with a felony or the parent of a child accused of a petty offense, it is important you have an experienced San Jose criminal defense attorney at your side. Contact the offices of Wesley J. Schroeder, Attorney at Law, to speak with a lawyer right away.

Sources:

http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A144049.PDF

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4192030722981250923&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47