In Re Mannino

By his petition for habeas corpus the petitioner seeks a judgment declaring that certain conditions upon which he was granted probation are void, and releasing him from all custody and obligations under those conditions. 1 He contends (1) that the state may not grant the privilege *957 of probation on conditions requiring the relinquishment of First Amendment rights, (2) that the complained of conditions of probation are an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, (3) that those conditions are unreasonable and excessive in the light of California probation law, and (4) that those conditions constitute an unconstitutional infringement of First Amendment rights of petitioner’s potential audience.

For reasons hereinafter set forth it is determined that many of the conditions in question exceed the criteria prescribed by law for terms of probation, and are therefore invalid; and that insofar as the remaining conditions impinge on freedom guaranteed by the United States Constitution they are warranted, because of the status of the petitioner as a convicted felon, as conditions, which are reasonably related and sufficiently narrowly drawn, to serve the interest of the…

I respectfully dissent from the views expressed by my colleagues on this court.

Their opinion, as I view it, extends the reach of the First Amendment even beyond its present scope. And it disregards well-established law vesting in the trial court broad discretion in imposing terms and conditions of probation. (See People v. King, 267 Cal.App.2d 814, 822 [ 73 Cal.Rptr. 440 ].)

It seems well at this point to consider the information before the trial court concerning Mannino, his demonstrated propensity for campus violence, and the crime of which he stands convicted.

In Oakland during October 1967 Mannino was arrested for disturbing the peace (Pen. Code, § 415), and refusing to disperse from the scene of a riot. Convicted of disturbing the peace, he was sentenced to 10 days in the county jail.

A month later at a University of California campus during the course of a demonstration by several hundred persons, an attempt was made to tear down several university flags and to replace them with others marked with a skull and crossbones. Several uniformed officers were assigned to prevent such malicious mischief. They were set upon by more than 100 persons who began striking, kicking…

By his petition for habeas corpus the petitioner seeks a judgment declaring that certain conditions upon which he was granted probation are void, and releasing him from all custody and obligations under those conditions. [1] He contends (1) that the state may not grant the privilege of probation on conditions requiring the relinquishment of First Amendment rights, (2) that the complained of conditions of probation are an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, (3) that those conditions are unreasonable and excessive in the light of California probation law, and (4) that those conditions constitute an unconstitutional infringement of First Amendment rights of petitioner's potential audience.

For reasons hereinafter set forth it is determined that many of the conditions in question exceed the criteria prescribed by law for terms of probation, and are therefore invalid; and that insofar as the remaining conditions impinge on freedom guaranteed by the United States Constitution they are warranted, because of the status of the petitioner as a convicted felon, as conditions, which are reasonably related and sufficiently narrowly drawn, to serve the interest…