Opinion
Misc. 2:23-mc-1291
11-20-2023
IN RE ADOPTION OF STANDARD AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF PROBATION AND SUPERVISED RELEASE mc-1291
ORDER ADOPTING FORMS OF STANDARD AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF PROBATION AND SUPERVISED RELEASE
MARK R. HORNAK, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
AND NOW, this 20th day of November, 2023;
WHEREAS the Court is required to impose upon a defendant sentenced to a term of probation or supervised release the mandatory conditions of supervision set forth in 18 U.S.C. §§ 3563(a) (for probation) and 3583(d) (for supervised release);
WHEREAS the Court may impose upon a defendant sentenced to a term of probation or supervised release discretionary conditions, e.g., “Standard Conditions” or “Special Conditions,” to the extent that such conditions are reasonably related to the relevant factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), involve only such deprivations of liberty or property as are reasonably necessary for the purposes indicated in § 3553(a)(2), and are consistent with any pertinent policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3563(b) and 3583(d);
WHEREAS the Standard Conditions set forth in Exhibit A to this Order, which were approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States Courts, are basic behavioral expectations for the defendant and minimum tools required by probation officers to adequately monitor the conduct of all defendants under supervision;
WHEREAS the form of Special Conditions set forth in Exhibit B to this Order provides for additional sanctions, restrictions, correctional interventions, or monitoring tools as necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing in the individual case when deemed appropriate for imposition by the sentencing judge; and
WHEREAS the Administrative Office of the United States Courts Probation and Pretrial Services Office has recommended that each Court adopt the Standard Conditions of probation and supervised release set forth in Exhibit A to this Order and fashion Special Conditions that comply with applicable laws,
In September 2016, the Judicial Conference of the United States Courts approved the Standard Conditions set forth in Exhibit A to this Order and the release of a report created by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Office, entitled “Overview of Probation and Supervised Release Conditions” (the “Overview”). Judicial Conference of the United States, Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States, UNITED STATES COURTS, Sept. 2016, at 14-15, https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09_0.pdf. In the Overview, it is recommended that-to establish “[s]ome level of national uniformity…because approximately 20 percent of persons under supervisions were sentenced in districts other than the district of supervision”-each district court adopt the Standard Conditions of probation and supervised release set forth in Exhibit A to this Order. Administrative Office of the United States Courts Probation and Pretrial Services Office, Overview of Probation and Supervised Release Conditions, UNITED STATES COURTS, Nov. 2016, at 16, https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/overview_of_probation_and_supervised_release_con ditions_0.pdf. The Overview also recommends that each district “fashion special conditions that comport with circuit case law” and lists the Special Conditions that are contained in Exhibit B to this Order. Id. at 16 n.11, 42-93. The Overview addresses in detail the statutory authority, language, purpose, and method of implementation for each of the Standard Conditions listed in Exhibit A to this Order and each of the Special Conditions listed in Exhibit B to this Order. Id. at 16.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Standard Conditions set forth in Exhibit A to this Order are adopted by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania as the Standard Conditions of probation and supervised release in this Court; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Special Conditions set forth in Exhibit B to this Order are adopted by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania as the form of such Special Conditions of probation and supervised release in this Court; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the forms of Standard and Special Conditions adopted by this Order are deemed to be the default forms of such Conditions in this Court, subject to the determination of the sentencing judge as to the imposition of any specific Condition in a given case.