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Name: People v. Smith
Case #: B192378
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 1
Opinion Date: 06/29/2007
Summary

The trial court has broad discretion in crafting reasonable conditions of probation, but they must serve a purpose specified in Penal Code section 1203.1 and be reasonably related to the crime of which defendant was convicted. (People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481.) Conditions of probation restricting a constitutional right will be upheld only if narrowly drawn to serve public safety and rehabilitation and specifically tailored to the individual probationer. (In re White (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 141.) In this case, appellant was convicted of an offense requiring him to register per Penal Code section 290. As a condition of his probation he was prohibited from leaving Los Angeles county for any purpose, including employment. In justifying the condition, the probation officer stated that as of 2005, the probation department had a policy prohibiting 290 offenders from leaving the county – “period.” The appellate court found the condition constitutionally infirm, noting that no consideration was given to appellant’s individual circumstances and the prohibition bore no reasonable relation to the crime, and remanded the matter with directions to either tailor the condition to appellant’s circumstances or strike it altogether.