Lawson v. State
| Decision Date | 25 October 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. SC06-2423.,SC06-2423. |
| Citation | 969 So.2d 222 |
| Parties | Sammy Lee LAWSON, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Kevin Richard Holtz, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, FL, for Petitioner.
Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, and Pamela Jane Koller and Kellie A. Nielan, Assistant Attorneys General, Daytona Beach, FL, for Respondent.
We have for review the decision of the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Lawson v. State, 941 So.2d 485 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). In its decision, the district court certified conflict with Singleton v. State, 891 So.2d 1226 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005), Davis v. State, 862 So.2d 931 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004), and Salzano v. State, 664 So.2d 23 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), and certified the following question as one of great public importance:
DOES A TRIAL COURT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION IN FINDING A DEFENDANT, WHO IS DISCHARGED FROM A COURT-ORDERED DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR NONATTENDANCE, IN WILLFUL VIOLATION OF PROBATION WHEN THE SENTENCING COURT DID NOT SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS THE DEFENDANT WOULD HAVE TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE PROGRAM AND IMPOSE A TIME PERIOD FOR COMPLIANCE?
Lawson, 941 So.2d at 492. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const.
For the reasons that follow, we answer the certified question in the negative and conclude that a trial court has discretion to find a defendant in willful and substantial violation of probation for being discharged from a court-ordered drug treatment program for nonattendance even if the sentencing court fails to specify the number of chances the defendant would have to complete the program or impose a time period for compliance. To the extent the conflict cases apply a per se rule that a trial court abuses its discretion in finding a willful and substantial violation of probation for being discharged from a court-ordered drug treatment program where the number of attempts allowed or time for completion is not specified in the order, we disapprove the reasoning of those decisions.1
Sammy Lawson was charged by information with one count of possession of cannabis with intent to sell and one count of sale of cannabis in two separate cases. On June 1, 2004, Lawson signed waivers of rights and agreements to enter a plea in both cases. Lawson agreed to plead no contest to each charge, be adjudicated guilty on each count, and be sentenced to five years' imprisonment on each count to run concurrently. Importantly, the plea agreement suspended the sentences upon successful completion of three years of drug offender probation.
On June 11, 2004, the trial court issued orders in both cases adjudicating Lawson guilty of the charges and placing him on drug offender probation pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement. The probation orders required Lawson to comply with a number of probation conditions, including:
2) You will pay to the State of Florida the amount of $50.00 (plus 4% surcharge) per month toward the cost of your supervision.
. . . .
10) You will submit to and be financially responsible for drug testing and participate in a drug treatment program, including residential and aftercare; as directed by your Supervising Officer.
. . . .
21) You will enter and successfully complete Non-secure or inpatient drug treatment if deemed appropriate by your Drug Offender Probation Officer.
. . . .
40) You must enter into, participate in, and successfully complete a [] substance abuse [] alcohol abuse [] Drug Abuse [] Other _____ evaluation and any treatment program subsequently prescribed by the treatment agency to which you are referred, including aftercare program, and be financially responsible for any treatment rendered. (TASC)[2]
On January 21, 2005, Lawson's probation officer, John McSweeney, filed an Affidavit of Violation of Drug Offender Probation with the court. The affidavit alleged, among other things, that Lawson violated a special condition,3 Condition (40), of his probation orders "by failing to successfully complete or remain in drug/alcohol treatment until the provider determines that treatment is no longer necessary." This violation was supported by an allegation that Lawson was discharged early from The Western Judicial Drug Treatment Program on January 19, 2005.4
On June 1, 2005, the trial court held a probation revocation proceeding in which Officer McSweeney testified as to Lawson's absences at the drug treatment program. The testimony revealed the following:
Lawson enrolled in a treatment program very soon after sentencing. The rules and regulations of this program, which were explained to Lawson before his first session, provide that an individual is subject to discharge after three absences. After missing nine sessions, Lawson was terminated from the program. In an attempt to work with Lawson and his alleged transportation problems, the program administrator reinstated Lawson to the program with the understanding that he miss no more sessions. However, Lawson again missed a class and was discharged from the program. . . . At the revocation hearing, the trial judge inquired of Lawson why he missed nine classes:
Q. You missed nine classes.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Tell me why you missed nine classes.
A. Well, the first time I missed three classes, I figured they had already kicked me out. Then I talked to my probation officer. He said to call back to see if I could get back into the class. I called back, and they accepted me back into the program. I tried to like finish all of them. Every week—I had one class a week. I was going to all my classes. I just missed one. I knew I had missed a class.
Q. I'm asking you why you missed nine classes before you were given an extra chance.
A. I have no idea, sir. No transportation.
The trial court found that
the defendant [wa]s in violation of his probation, a substantial violation. Officer McSweeney from the Department of Corrections testified that he was the supervisor of this defendant, that he was instructed on 7/16/04 of the conditions of his probation, one of those conditions being condition 40. The defendant was on drug offender probation, was assigned to a particular class at western judicial, and that he was unsuccessfully discharged. His reasons for absences are not persuasive to this Court. Therefore he is in violation of his probation.
Accordingly, the court revoked Lawson's probation and reinstated the five-year sentences, to run concurrently for each crime, with gain time earned and credit for time served.5
On appeal, the Fifth District affirmed the revocation based only on Lawson's violation of Condition (40)—the failure to complete the court-ordered drug treatment program. The court agreed that the State met its burden of proving that Lawson willfully and substantially violated his probation "[b]ased on the evidence and testimony in the record." Lawson, 941 So.2d at 492. Despite the fact that the probation orders failed to articulate the number of attempts the defendant had to complete the program or a time period for compliance, the Fifth District concluded that the decision to revoke probation in this circumstance is appropriately within the sound discretion of the trial court. See id. at 491-92. The court stated that a defendant is not automatically entitled to either wait until the last minute or be given additional chances to complete the program; rather, a "commonsense" reading of the probation orders put the defendant on notice that compliance must be undertaken as soon as probation is ordered. Id. at 489-90. Because the defendant had adequate notice, the failure to include these specific parameters within the probation orders should not strip the trial court of its discretion to revoke probation in these circumstances. See id. at 491-92.
The issue we must decide is whether it is within the discretion of the trial court to find a defendant in willful and substantial violation of probation for being discharged from a court-ordered drug treatment program for nonattendance, even if the sentencing court did not specify the number of chances the defendant would have to successfully complete the program or impose a time period for compliance. In other words, does a sentencing court's failure to be specific in the probation order on the number of attempts or time period for completing the drug treatment program put the probationer on adequate notice that being discharged from the treatment program for willful nonattendance could result in the revocation of his or her probation.
Generally, an appellate court applies an abuse of discretion standard when reviewing a trial court's decision to revoke probation. See, e.g., State v. Carter, 835 So.2d 259, 262 (Fla.2002). Although this case involves the revocation of probation, the issue presented by the parties is a question of law. Accordingly, the Court applies the de novo standard of review. See Koile v. State, 934 So.2d 1226, 1229 (Fla.2006). We first review this Court's jurisprudence as it relates to a trial court's discretion in both granting and revoking probation. We then discuss the various circumstances in which the trial court can require the completion of a drug treatment program and demonstrate, based on a review of several district court decisions, how the unique circumstances of each case favor giving broad discretion to the trial court to make decisions on revocation of probation based on the failure to complete a court-ordered drug treatment program. Finally, we apply this analysis to the facts at issue here in order to decide whether the trial court abused its discretion in revoking Lawson's drug offender probation.
This Court has often stated that the grant of probation "rests within the broad discretion of the trial judge and is a matter of grace rather than right."...
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