Commonwealth v. Wilson, 620 Pa. 251

Appellant was convicted by bench trial of three VUFA counts and one drug possession offense.
Trial court sentenced appellant to 2.5 to 5 years with 3 years’ probation and imposed warrantless, suspicionless searches of his residence as a probation condition.
The trial court relied on 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754 to justify the probation search and noted Gun Court probation procedures.
Superior Court en banc initially upheld the probation search for the probationary term but vacated it for parole; the panel split, with an opinion in support of affirmance (OISA) and a dissent (OISR).
This Court granted allocatur to decide whether a probation condition allowing random searches violates § 9912(d)(2) and the U.S./Pa. Constitutions; the majority held the probation search condition violated § 9912(d)(2) and remanded for resentencing; jurisdiction was relinquished.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether §9912(d)(2) bars a sentencing court from directing warrantless, suspicionless searches as a probation condition.	Wilson argues the trial court acted within statutory authority under §9912(d)(2).	Commonwealth contends §9912(d)(2) applies to probation officers acting independently, not to court-imposed conditions.	Yes; sentencing courts may not direct warrantless, suspicionless searches under §9912(d)(2).
Whether §9754(c)(13) permits a probation search condition despite §9912(d)(2)’s restriction.	Wilson relies on broad probation-condition authority to justify court-imposed searches.	Commonwealth argues §9912(d)(2) limits searches irrespective of §9754(c)(13).	No; the statutory scheme requires compliance with §9912(d)(2); the probation search condition cannot stand.
Whether the parole-search portion is valid, given parole is under the Board, not the trial court.	Wilson argues the search condition for parole is illegal as parole terms fall outside trial court authority.	Commonwealth argues the issue is non-crucial since appellate relief rests on parole as Board-controlled.	Parole-search condition vacated; trial court lacks authority to impose such conditions on parole.

Commonwealth v. Pickron, 535 Pa. 241 (1993) (established constitutional concerns about warrantless searches of probationers/parolees)
Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (2001) (reasonableness vs. individualized suspicion in probation contexts)
Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (2006) (upheld constitutionality of suspicionless searches as a parole condition under broad state interests)
Williams, 547 Pa. 577 (1997) (probation/parole rights and search circumstances in Pennsylvania)
In re Paulmier, 594 Pa. 433 (2007) (statutory interpretation guiding when to resolve issues non-constitutionally)