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Random Monitoring of Computer Use Too Broad a Supervised Release Condition

By Shari Allison

United States v. Matteson, No. 08-2176 (10th Cir. 2009)(unpublished)Congratulations to defense counsel for a sentencing remand resulting from great teasing out of good stuff on appeal which prompted a government concession. As a condition of supervised release for Defendant?s bank fraud and stolen mail convictions (the offenses involved Defendant making counterfeit checks on his computer), the district court imposed heavy-duty random monitoring of D?s computer use. The Court determined that the condition was too vague as to whether it applied to all computers to which Defendant had access. Because the government conceded this point, it was not reviewed under the plain error standard. The Court did not reach Defendant?s second argument that the ?every keystroke? condition was too broad, stating that how the district court clarified which computers were effected by which conditions might have a bearing on whether the monitoring was too broad.continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).