United States Third Circuit

Special conditions, which a district court imposed on defendant's lifetime term of supervised release after he pled guilty to possessing child pornography, are vacated and remanded where: 1) an absolute lifetime ban on using computers and computer equipment as well as accessing the internet, with no exception for employment or education, involved a greater deprivation of liberty than was reasonably necessary, and was not reasonably related to the applicable statutory factors; 2) a lifetime ban on possessing "sexually explicit materials" was overly broad and unsupported by the district court's analysis; and 3) although a restriction on defendant's associating with children, including his own, may have been supported, the district court improperly delegated absolute authority to a probation office over such restrictions.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/05/2007
• Published 06/05/2007

Judges

• Before: SLOVITER, McKEE and RENDELL, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Karen S. Gerlach, Renee Pietropaolo (Argued), Office of Federal Public Defender, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert L. Eberhardt (Argued), Laura S. Irwin, Office of United States Attorney, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellee.