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United States v. Arnold D. Holland
22-11819
11th Cir.
Nov 7, 2023
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Background

  • Holland convicted in 2004 for receiving child pornography; released to three years supervised release in 2014 and lived at Dismas House (expelled 2015 for possessing a camera phone).
  • He later violated supervised-release terms (unauthorized phones, pornography) and was resentenced with a new sex-offender compliance contract restricting possession of "sexually oriented material," internet use without approval, and permitting inspections.
  • NCMEC/GBI cybertips traced uploads of explicit images of prepubescent boys (Dec 2017–Jan 2018) from an Instagram account tied to an email and a phone number that matched Holland’s driver’s-license number.
  • GBI Special Agent Bigham investigated, shared findings with Probation Officer Brewer, who reviewed Holland’s file (criminal history, psychosexual evaluation showing high risk, prior device violations) and coordinated with Bigham.
  • On January 14, 2019, probation officers (with Bigham on site) searched Holland’s residence, seized four unauthorized phones containing evidence; a magistrate and the district court denied Holland’s suppression motion.
  • Holland appealed, arguing the information was stale and that the compliance-contract term "sexually oriented material" is unconstitutionally vague; the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

Issues

Issue Plaintiff's Argument Defendant's Argument Held
Whether probation officers had reasonable suspicion to search Holland’s home based on the Instagram cybertip and other information Holland: tip was stale (posted ~1 year earlier) and collective-knowledge doctrine inapplicable Government: totality of circumstances + collective knowledge supported reasonable suspicion; information not stale Court: search reasonable; collective knowledge applied; linking account phone to Holland and his history made info not stale
Whether images uploaded to Instagram qualified as violations or made the compliance term void for vagueness Holland: images may not be "sexually oriented" and the contract term is vague Government: whether images alone fit the term is irrelevant because other facts supported suspicion of internet use/unauthorized phones Court: declined to decide vagueness; held the precise definition unnecessary because other violations supplied reasonable suspicion

Key Cases Cited

  • United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (U.S. 2001) (probationer searches may be reasonable under lesser standard when conditions reduce expectation of privacy)
  • United States v. Carter, 566 F.3d 970 (11th Cir. 2009) (reasonableness balancing for searches of probationers)
  • United States v. Yuknavich, 419 F.3d 1302 (11th Cir. 2005) (particularized, objective basis and articulable facts for reasonable suspicion)
  • United States v. Esle, 743 F.2d 1465 (11th Cir. 1984) (collective-knowledge doctrine applies when officers communicate and coordinate)
  • United States v. Touset, 890 F.3d 1227 (11th Cir. 2018) (child-pornography evidence is less likely to become stale; electronic storage persists)
  • United States v. Harris, 526 F.3d 1334 (11th Cir. 2008) (reasonable suspicion may arise from lawful activity)
Read the full case

Case Details

Case Name: United States v. Arnold D. Holland
Court Name: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Date Published: Nov 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-11819
Court Abbreviation: 11th Cir.