United States v. Hathorn

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's revocation of defendant's supervised release and imposition of a special condition of supervised release allowing probation officers to search his computers, cellular telephones, and all other electronics. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by crafting a special condition that was reasonably related to the nature and circumstances of his drug offense and the history and characteristics of defendant. In this case, defendant was convicted of a drug-trafficking offense and had multiple drug-related supervised release violations. The court held that the deprivation of defendant's liberty was not more than was reasonably necessary to advance deterrence, protect the public from him, and serve his correctional needs. Finally, the court rejected defendant's claim that the special condition was inconsistent with the Sentencing Commission's policy statements, and held that the special condition was consistent with USSG 5D1.3(d)(4), which addresses substance abuse. View "United States v. Hathorn" on Justia Law