People v. J'Lavon T. (In Re J'Lavon T.)
People v. J'Lavon T. (In Re J'Lavon T.)
Opinion
*232 *815 ¶ 1 The respondent, J'Lavon T., appeals from the trial court's judgment adjudicating him a delinquent minor by reason of his commission of one count of armed robbery and the resulting sentence of 2 years' probation and 40 hours' community service. 1 The respondent argues that certain conditions of probation imposed by the trial court, including that he have "no gang contact" and not post "anything related to a gang" on social media, were improper because they lack exceptions for legitimate purposes. Additionally, he claims that the social media restriction violates due process because it does not adequately identify what conduct constitutes a violation of probation. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand.
¶ 2 The State alleged in a petition for adjudication of wardship that the 15-year-old respondent committed one count each of theft from a person ( 720 ILCS 5/16-1 (West 2016) ); robbery ( 720 ILCS 5/18-1 (West 2016) ); aggravated robbery ( 720 ILCS 5/18-1(b) (West 2016) ); armed robbery ( 720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(2) (West 2016) ); unlawful restraint ( 720 ILCS 5/10-3(a) (West 2016) ); aggravated unlawful restraint ( 720 ILCS 5/10-3.1(a) (West 2016) ); and battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3(a)(2) (West 2016) ).
¶ 3 The matter proceeded to a bench trial, where the following evidence was adduced by the State. At approximately 10 a.m. on February 11, 2017, the victim, Jonathon Todd, met an acquaintance at a store in Chicago. The acquaintance led Todd to the basement of an abandoned building, where the respondent and two other individuals "grabbed" him. One of those individuals drew a gun and took Todd's cell phone, and the respondent "punched" Todd in the face. Todd contacted the police, identified the respondent at the police station, and also identified him in court. Based on this evidence, the trial court found the respondent delinquent as to the armed robbery count. 2
¶ 4 The matter proceeded to a dispositional hearing, where the trial court received a social investigation report. According to the report, the respondent had "been to" the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center once but had not previously been subject to a warrant, arrest, station adjustment, or probation. He attended high school and had "some friends that are in a gang," but denied that he belonged to a gang. The respondent's mother stated that their family lives in "a rough area with a lot crime and gangs," and that he "got caught up" in the offense because of "hanging with the wrong people." She added that, during the offense, the respondent "was a follower and he should have kn[own] better," and that "the biggest problem she [has] with [him] is making sure he does not hang with a negative crowd." She also stated that, during the year following the offense, "things have *233 *816 been about the same but [the respondent] needs to stay away from negative peers."
¶ 5 The trial court sentenced the respondent to 2 years' probation and 40 hours' community service. In setting forth the conditions of his probation, the judge stated:
"No gangs, guns or drugs; drugs includes [ sic ] marijuana and alcohol. Gang[s], you can't post anything on social media related to gangs or any money that might have been attained. I don't [think] this is going to be a problem but I have [to] tell you that.
No illegally attained funds can be shown on Facebook or any social media and anything related to a gang, you can't do that on social media."
The dispositional order form includes a checkmark next to the words "no gang contact or activity," and a handwritten addition stating "no guns, no drugs." The probation order includes handwritten additions stating "no social media," "no gangs, guns, or drugs," and "no gang involvement." The trial court did not ask whether these probation conditions interfered with the respondent's family, school, or employment relationships, although the respondent signed the probation order, which states "[b]y signing, * * * you are indicating that you have read and fully understand all of the conditions of your Probation." The respondent neither objected to the probation conditions at the dispositional hearing nor filed a post-adjudication motion. This appeal followed.
¶ 6 On appeal, the respondent first contends that the probation conditions imposed by the trial court, including that he have "no gang contact" and not post "anything related to a gang" on social media, constitute overbroad impairments on his right to freedom of speech and association under the first amendment of the United States Constitution ( U.S. Const., amend. I ). Specifically, he argues that the restrictions lack "commonsense exceptions" for "legitimate purposes," such as contact with family members, classmates, or coworkers who might be gang members, and provide "no guidance" as to what kind of social media usage would violate the no-contact order. Because the respondent lives in an area with gang activity, he also maintains there is an "unreasonable risk" that he could violate the "blanket" restrictions unknowingly and unintentionally.
¶ 7 The State, in response, argues that the respondent forfeited his claim of error by not raising it in the trial court. On the merits, however, the State contends that the respondent's argument regarding his probation conditions amounts to an as-applied constitutional challenge, which fails because the record does not establish that his personal circumstances warrant any exceptions to the trial court's order. According to the State, there is no evidence establishing that anyone in the respondent's family or school belongs to a gang; in the trial court, he identified no legitimate reason for having contact with gang members or posting gang-related content on social media; and nothing in the record suggests that he was "confused" about the scope of the probation order or has been accused of violating his probation by engaging in innocuous conduct. Consequently, the State submits that the respondent's as-applied constitutional challenge relies on "hypothetical examples" and, based on the record, is not justiciable.
¶ 8 The respondent acknowledges that he did not object to the conditions of his probation in the trial court, but maintains that this court should review his claim of error under the first or second prong of the plain-error doctrine. The first inquiry before determining whether there was a plain error is to determine whether there was a clear and obvious error.
*234
*817
People v. Eppinger
,
¶ 9 Turning to the merits, we begin by noting that delinquency proceedings are protective in nature and are intended to correct and rehabilitate, not to punish.
In re Jonathon C.B.
,
¶ 10 Although the trial court has "wide latitude" in imposing probation conditions, its "discretion is limited by constitutional safeguards and must be exercised in a reasonable manner."
J.W.
,
¶ 11 When assessing the reasonableness of a probation condition, "it is appropriate to consider whether the restriction is related to the nature of the offense or the rehabilitation of the probationer."
Id.
at 79,
¶ 12 In
In re Omar F.
,
¶ 13 The State contends that
Omar F.
is inapposite and relies on a "flawed constitutional analysis" because the minor in that case essentially raised an as-applied constitutional challenge to his gang-related probation conditions and, as here, "no evidence" showed that his family members, classmates, or coworkers belonged to a gang. We disagree, and decline to analyze the respondent's argument regarding his probation conditions under the framework for an as-applied constitutional challenge where our supreme court has explained that the relevant inquiry is whether the conditions are reasonable. See
J.W.
,
¶ 14 Turning to the present case, we find, at the outset, that the gang-related restrictions on the minor's contacts and social media usage constitute valid conditions of probation because they relate to his rehabilitation. According to the social investigation report, the respondent lives in an area with gang activity and has friends who are gang members. He denied belonging to a gang, but his mother believed that he participated in the offense because he was "with the wrong people," and stated that, approximately one year after the offense, he still "needs to stay away from negative peers." Given this evidence, along with the trial court's responsibility as a
parens patriae
, we conclude that the court's attempt "to limit [the respondent's] contact (real or virtual) with gang members was a valid condition of probation."
Omar F.
,
¶ 15 Having found a valid connection between the respondent's probation conditions and his rehabilitation, we next consider whether those conditions were so
*236
*819
overbroad as to be unreasonable. The trial court's order, as noted, prohibited the respondent from "gang contact" and posting "anything related to a gang" on social media. These conditions allow no exceptions for contact or social media postings related to a legitimate purpose, such as communication with family, classmates, or coworkers. And, although the trial court specified that the respondent could not post about money "attained" through gang activity, it offered no guidance as to whether and under what circumstances a social media "posting" could constitute prohibited "contact" for purposes of a probation violation. See,
e.g.
,
Packingham v. North Carolina
, --- U.S. ----,
¶ 16 In reaching this conclusion, we are not unmindful that, in
In re R.H.
,
¶ 17 First,
R.H.
analyzed the gang-related probation condition as a content-based restriction on speech, and concluded that it survived strict scrutiny because it was narrowly tailored and advanced a compelling state interest in "preventing [the minor] from further criminal acts."
Id.
¶¶ 13, 19, 25. This analysis, however, overlooks our supreme court's directive that the "overriding concern" in evaluating a condition of probation is whether it is reasonable. See
J.W.
,
¶ 18 Because we find error, we must determine whether the error rose to the level of plain error so as to permit our review.
People v. Fort
,
¶ 19 The respondent contends that this court should review his sentencing challenge under either the first or second prong of the plain-error doctrine. As to the first prong, he argues that evidence of his gang involvement was closely balanced because his offense was not gang-related, no evidence showed that his social media included gang content, and, according to the social investigation report, he denied being in a gang and stated that only "some" of his friends are gang members. Based on the same facts, he maintains that the trial court's imposition of "blanket" probation conditions was "arbitrary," and therefore, also constituted second-prong plain error.
¶ 20 We elect to review the probation conditions under the second prong of the plain-error doctrine, as the gang-related restrictions imposed by the trial court, while valid, were so vague as to affect the integrity of the respondent's dispositional hearing. Indeed, "[t]he judicial process of permitting social rehabilitation as a condition of probation depends on evidence of the need for such social rehabilitation but also clear parameters in setting out how the rehabilitation is to proceed."
Omar F.
,
¶ 21 In summary, we conclude that the imposition of gang-related probation conditions in this case was valid but overbroad and, therefore, unreasonable so as to constitute plain error. Accordingly, we excuse the respondent's forfeiture of this issue and vacate that part of the trial court's order requiring him to have "no gang contact" and not post "anything related to a gang" on social media. We remand the cause so that the trial court may consider whether such restrictions are still warranted, and, if so, what appropriate exceptions for contacts and social media postings related to family, school, and employment should be applied. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in all other respects. Based on the foregoing, we need not reach the respondent's additional contention that *238 *821 the social media prohibition violates due process.
¶ 22 Affirmed in part; vacated in part; and remanded.
Justices Connors and Delort concurred in the judgment and opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In RE J'LAVON T., a Minor, (The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee, v. J'Lavon T., Respondent-Appellant).
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Unpublished