People v. Arevalo
People v. Arevalo
Opinion of the Court
*654A jury convicted Maria Arevalo of possessing methamphetamine for sale ( Health & Saf. Code, § 11378 ). The trial court suspended execution of sentence and granted three years formal probation on *655several conditions. On appeal, Arevalo contends the probation condition requiring her to maintain a residence approved by her probation officer is unconstitutionally overbroad and violates her right to travel and freedom of association. She also requests that this court independently review the in camera hearing of her Pitchess motion. We find her first contention lacks merit, and the Attorney General agrees this court should review the confidential records. We have done so, and we affirm the judgment.
FACTS
In 2014, Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ashra Abdelmuti conducted a "controlled buy" between a confidential informant (CI) and Arevalo. After the CI purchased methamphetamine from Arevalo, deputies obtained a search warrant for Arevalo, her vehicle, and her apartment.
Abdelmuti spoke to Arevalo at her mother's house in Anaheim. After learning the deputies intended to search her apartment, Arevalo gave them the keys. Inside Arevalo's apartment, deputies found 5.6 ounces of methamphetamine, two large digital scales, a box of empty plastic baggies, a plastic sifter, and $1,116 in cash. The methamphetamine had a street value between $5,314 and $7,086. Abdelmuti opined the items seized indicated the methamphetamine was possessed for sale.
Arevalo testified in her defense. She stated she was afraid of her ex-boyfriend Daniel Jose Leon. Leon possessed two *195guns, and Arevalo once saw him hit a friend in the head with a gun.
Arevalo ended her relationship with Leon in the middle of 2013, but during their relationship, she had borrowed $1,500 from him and had not repaid the loan. In January 2014, Arevalo testified she was employed and dating someone new. Arevalo testified Leon was jealous about her new relationship and angry that she had not repaid him the money she owed. Arevalo claimed Leon gave her the methamphetamine and drug-related items detectives found in her apartment, and that he forced her to sell methamphetamine as a way to repay the money she owed him. She did not want to take the drugs but agreed to do so because she believed she and her family (including her then five-year-old daughter) were in danger. Leon threatened Arevalo by putting a nine-millimeter gun to her head. Leon was sometimes physically violent towards Arevalo, and he said he would hurt her and her daughter if she reported anything to the police.
Arevalo admitted she sold drugs to the CI. She drove her car to deliver the drugs but she did not collect any money from the CI. Arevalo claimed the buyer wanted to give the money directly to Leon. She explained the money *656found in her apartment was not related to selling drugs, but was money she was saving "for [her] new visa." She admitted she did not ask her family for the money to repay Leon. She also never told her family or the police about Leon's threats.
Deputies arrested Leon. During their search of his apartment, they found a nine-millimeter gun and a bag of ammunition.
DISCUSSION
I. Probation Condition
Arevalo maintains the probation conditions requiring her to maintain a residence approved by her probation officer are unconstitutionally overbroad and must be stricken. The Attorney General maintains the condition is narrowly tailored to serve the state's interests in rehabilitation and reformation. We conclude the approval condition is constitutionally valid.
Generally, trial courts are given broad discretion in fashioning terms of probation in order to foster the reformation and rehabilitation of the offender while protecting public safety. ( People v. Carbajal (1995)
However, we review constitutional challenges under a different standard. Arevalo's claim the probation term is unconstitutionally overbroad presents a question of law, which we review de novo. ( In re Sheena K. (2007)
A probation condition cannot be unconstitutionally overbroad. "A restriction is unconstitutionally overbroad ... if it (1) 'impinge[s] on constitutional *657rights,' and (2) is not 'tailored carefully and reasonably related to the compelling state interest in reformation and rehabilitation.' [Citations.] The essential question in an overbreadth challenge is the closeness of the fit between the legitimate purpose of the restriction and the burden it imposes on the defendant's constitutional rights-bearing in mind, of course, that perfection in such matters is impossible, and that practical necessity will justify some infringement." ( In re E.O. (2010)
Although conditions requiring prior approval of a probationer's residence may affect the constitutional rights to travel and freedom of association ( People v. Bauer (1989)
Arevalo relies upon the Bauer case, in which the appellate court struck a residence approval condition. ( Bauer, supra , 211 Cal.App.3d at p. 945,
Here, there is nothing in the record to suggest the approval condition was designed to banish Arevalo from a particular neighborhood or stop her from living where she desires. (See People v. Stapleton (2017)
We are also mindful of the legal tenet, "[P]robation is a privilege and not a right, and adult probationers, in preference to incarceration, may validly consent to limitations upon their constitutional rights. [Citation.] For example, probationers may agree to warrantless search conditions or restrictions on their constitutional right of association. [Citations.]" ( Stapleton , supra, 9 Cal.App.5th at p. 994,
II. Review of Record
During discovery, Arevalo requested and was granted review of confidential police personnel files. The court provided the witnesses' names, addresses, and contact information regarding one incident. Arevalo requests we independently review the Pitchess hearing conducted by the trial court. The Attorney General agrees we may review the sealed transcript.
We can independently examine the record made by the trial court "to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying a defendant's motion for disclosure of police personnel records." ( People v. Prince (2007)
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
WE CONCUR:
IKOLA, J.
THOMPSON, J.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.