State v. Padilla
| Decision Date | 10 May 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 94605-1,94605-1 |
| Citation | 190 Wash.2d 672,416 P.3d 712 |
| Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Jameel PADILLA, Petitioner. |
| Court | Washington Supreme Court |
Eric Broman, Mary Swift, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, Attorney at Law, 1908 E Madison St., Seattle, WA, 98122-2842 for Petitioner.
Seth Aaron Fine, Attorney at Law, Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett, WA, 98201-4060 for Respondent.
González, J.¶ 1 Jameel Padilla was convicted for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. At issue here is Padilla’s community custody condition prohibiting him from "possess[ing] or access[ing] pornographic materials, as directed by his supervising Community Corrections Officer" (CCO). Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 37. Padilla argues that the condition and its accompanying definition of "pornographic materials" are unconstitutionally vague.
¶ 2 Although the condition includes a definition of "pornographic materials," the definition itself is vague and overbroad. A condition cannot be saved from a vagueness challenge merely because it contains a definition when that definition itself suffers the same weakness. Moreover, an overbroad definition does not sufficiently put the offender on notice of what materials are prohibited and subjects him to possible arbitrary enforcement. We therefore reverse the Court of Appeals’ decision upholding the condition and remand to the trial court for further definition of the term "pornographic materials" following a determination of whether the restriction is narrowly tailored based on Padilla’s conviction.
FACTS
¶ 3 K.M.,1 a nine-year-old living in California, received a message on her Facebook page. At the time, her profile picture showed her at eight-and-a-half years old. The message, sent from "Jim Wilcox," included sexually explicit texts. Originally, K.M. thought these messages were from a family friend, but quickly realized she was mistaken.
¶ 4 A relevant portion of the conversation includes:
CP at 113-14. Concerned and confused, K.M. blocked "Wilcox" and told her father about the conversation. K.M.’s father reported the messages to California law enforcement and provided screenshots of the conversation. Investigating officers discovered the Internet protocol (IP) address for the computer used to access the "Jim Wilcox" Facebook account was associated with Padilla, who lived in Everett, Washington. At the time, Padilla was 35 years old.
¶ 5 Everett police seized Padilla’s computer pursuant to a valid search warrant. A search of the computer revealed Padilla’s various Facebook aliases, including the account of "Jim Wilcox." Initially, Padilla did not admit or deny that he used the "Wilcox" account, but he did admit to engaging in similar conversations via Facebook. A forensic evaluation of Padilla’s computer also revealed that Padilla was logged on every time K.M. received a message from the "Wilcox" account. Although officers were not able to find the chats with K.M. on Padilla’s computer, they had enough evidence to link Padilla to the communications, including identically phrased messages to other minors.
¶ 6 Padilla was charged and convicted of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.2 The court sentenced him to 75 days of confinement and 12 months of community custody, imposing multiple conditions. Here, Padilla challenges only the condition prohibiting his possession and access to pornographic materials, as directed by his CCO. The term "pornographic material" was defined as "images of sexual intercourse, simulated or real, masturbation, or the display of intimate body parts." CP at 37.
¶ 7 On appeal, Padilla challenged his conviction and both community custody conditions. The State disputed Padilla’s challenge to the pornography condition. The court affirmed Padilla’s conviction, upheld the pornography condition, and remanded to strike the other concededly vague condition.3 State v . Padilla, No. 73902-6-1, slip op. at 10, 2017 WL 1483979, at *4–5 (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2017) (unpublished), http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/739026.pdf. Padilla sought review here, claiming the charging information omitted an essential element of crime and challenging the "pornographic materials" condition as vague. We granted review only as to the sentencing condition. State v . Padilla, 189 Wash.2d 1023, 407 P.3d 1134 (2017).
ANALYSIS
¶ 8 Conditions of community custody may be challenged for vagueness for the first time on appeal, and where the challenge involves a legal question that can be resolved on the existing record, the challenge may be addressed before any attempted enforcement of the condition. State v . Bahl , 164 Wash.2d 739, 744, 193 P.3d 678 (2008). This court reviews community custody conditions for abuse of discretion, and will reverse them only if they are " ‘manifestly unreasonable.’ " State v. Irwin, 191 Wash. App. 644, 652, 364 P.3d 830 (2015) (quoting State v. Sanchez Valencia, 169 Wash.2d 782, 791-92, 239 P.3d 1059 (2010) ). A trial court abuses its discretion if it imposes an unconstitutional condition. Id. Here, Padilla raises a preenforcement vagueness challenge to his community custody condition prohibiting him from possessing or accessing pornography.
¶ 9 A legal prohibition, such as a community custody condition, is unconstitutionally vague if (1) it does not sufficiently define the proscribed conduct so an ordinary person can understand the prohibition or (2) it does not provide sufficiently ascertainable standards to protect against arbitrary enforcement. Bahl, 164 Wash.2d at 752-53, 193 P.3d 678 (citing City of Spokane v . Douglass, 115 Wash.2d 171, 178, 795 P.2d 693 (1990) ). But " ‘a community custody condition is not unconstitutionally vague merely because a person cannot predict with complete certainty the exact point at which his actions would be classified as prohibited conduct.’ " Sanchez Valencia, 169 Wash.2d at 793, 239 P.3d 1059 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting State v . Sanchez-Valencia, 148 Wash. App. 302, 321, 198 P.3d 1065, rev’d, 169 Wash.2d 782, 239 P.3d 1059 (2009) ). Furthermore, a vague condition infringing on protected First Amendment speech can chill the exercise of those protected freedoms. Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 109, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 33 L.Ed. 2d 222 (1972) ; U.S. CONST. amend. 1. A regulation implicating First Amendment speech must be narrowly tailored to further the State’s legitimate interest. Grayned, 408 U.S. at 117, 92 S.Ct. 2294.4 Accordingly, a restriction implicating First Amendment rights demands a greater degree of specificity and must be reasonably necessary to accomplish the essential needs of the state and public order. State v. Riley, 121 Wash.2d 22, 37-38, 846 P.2d 1365 (1993) (quoting Malone v. United States, 502 F.2d 554, 556 (9th Cir. 1974) ).
1. Padilla’s community custody condition prohibiting access and possession of "pornographic materials" is unconstitutionally vague
¶ 10 As mentioned earlier, Padilla challenges the condition prohibiting his access and possession of pornographic materials as unconstitutionally vague. We agree.
¶ 11 In Bahl, our court held that a similarly worded condition was unconstitutionally vague. 164 Wash.2d at 758, 193 P.3d 678. There, Eric Bahl was convicted of second degree rape and first degree burglary. Id. at 743, 193 P.3d 678. In addition to prison time, the court imposed a mandatory life term of community custody on the rape charge. One of the community custody conditions prohibited Bahl from " ‘possess[ing] or access[ing] pornographic materials, as directed by the supervising [CCO].’ " Id. Because the condition granted sole authority to Bahl’s CCO in determining what material was prohibited, this court found the condition did not sufficiently provide Bahl with notice of which materials were prohibited or provide ascertainable enforcement standards. Id. at 758, 193 P.3d 678.
¶ 12 Similar to Bahl, the plain language of Padilla’s pornography condition is vague. However, unlike Bahl’s, Padilla’s condition includes a definition of the term "pornographic materials" as "images of sexual intercourse, simulated or real, masturbation, or the display of intimate body parts." CP at 37. Whether the definition of the term "pornographic materials" in a community custody condition prohibiting the possession or access of such materials is vague is an issue of first impression.
¶ 13 There are three overarching instances when a court will declare a legal provision, such as a community custody condition, unconstitutionally vague. First, the statute must "give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what [behavior] is prohibited." Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108, 92 S.Ct. 2294. Second, the law must provide explicit standards to those charged with enforcing the law in order to prevent "arbitrary and discriminatory" application. Id. Finally, a vague law that encroaches on " ‘sensitive areas of basic First Amendment freedoms’ " naturally inhibits the exercise of those freedoms because individuals who are uncertain of the meaning of a statute will steer " ‘far wider’ " than necessary in order to ensure compliance. Id. at 109, 92 S.Ct. 2294 (quoting Baggett v . Bullitt , 377 U.S. 360, 372, 84 S.Ct. 1316, 12 L.Ed. 2d 377 (1964) ).
¶ 14 To determine whether a legal provision, such as a community custody condition, is unconstitutionally vague, we apply a two-pronged analysis. We must first consider whether the challenged language "fail[s] to provide the kind of notice that will enable ordinary people to understand what conduct it prohibits." City of Chicago v . Morales, 527 U.S. 41, 56, 119 S.Ct. 1849, 144 L.Ed. 2d 67 (...
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