People v. Snider CA3

Filed 3/25/16 P. v. Snider CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C079125

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 62-116870)

v.

RONN SNIDER,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2012, defendant Ronn Snider was convicted of driving while under the influence and fleeing the scene of an accident, and the trial court placed him on probation. Defendant argues on appeal the trial court imposed an unconstitutionally vague and overbroad probation condition requiring him to abstain from any possession and use of intoxicants. Defendant also contends the trial court abused its discretion in 2015, when it denied his request to modify his probation conditions to allow his use of medical marijuana. We affirm both judgments.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On September 24, 2012, defendant drove his car after he had been drinking. He rear-ended another car and fled the scene on foot. Law enforcement officers found defendant in his home, approximately one-half mile from the scene of the accident. His blood-alcohol content was 0.17, and his license was suspended at the time of the accident. Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant pleaded no contest to driving under the influence (DUI) and leaving the scene of an accident. (Veh. Code, §§ 23153, subd. (a), 20001, subd. (a).) The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on probation for five years. One of defendant’s probation conditions requires him to “[t]otally abstain from the use and possession of intoxicants and not be in any place where alcohol is the primary item of sale.” Defendant challenges this condition of probation. In July 2014, defendant requested the trial court allow him to use medical marijuana. The probation officer recommended against allowing marijuana use, and the trial court refused to modify defendant’s probation conditions. Defendant filed but eventually abandoned an appeal of this ruling. In February 2015, defendant filed another motion to modify his probation conditions to allow his use of medical marijuana. The trial court denied defendant’s request, noting defendant’s history of drug and alcohol abuse, as detailed in the 2012 probation report. Defendant began drinking in 1981, at age 13, and by age 44, he was consuming 10 drinks a day. Defendant started smoking marijuana “socially” when he was 13 or 14, and he had been smoking it daily since he received his medical marijuana card in 2011. Defendant admitted using cocaine since age 17 or 18, abusing pain medications since his late 20’s, and experimenting with methamphetamine. Defendant was convicted in 2000 for DUI (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (a)) and had two separate convictions for driving with a suspended license. (Veh. Code, § 14601.)