Background

• Kenneth Ellington, a recidivist convicted of bank robberies, was found to have violated supervised release and received a new sentence including special conditions under 18 U.S.C. § 3583.
• The district court imposed a special condition requiring Ellington to allow his probation officer to search his computer and other electronic devices.
• Ellington challenged the condition as an abuse of discretion, arguing it was unrelated to his history/characteristics and constituted an excessive deprivation of liberty under § 3583(d).
• The government defended the condition as reasonably related to § 3553(a) factors (criminal history, deterrence) and appropriate given Ellington’s repeated supervised-release violations and prior recidivism while under supervision.
• The district court relied on Ellington’s extensive history of violations (including absconding and prior bank robberies while on supervision) and prior leniency that was later betrayed.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• United States v. Moran, 573 F.3d 1132 (11th Cir. 2009) (standard of review for supervised-release conditions)
• United States v. Taylor, 338 F.3d 1280 (11th Cir. 2003) (appellate review standard described)
• United States v. Bull, 214 F.3d 1275 (11th Cir. 2000) (special conditions need not be directly tied to the specific offense; weigh § 3553(a) factors independently)
• Castillo v. United States, 816 F.3d 1300 (11th Cir. 2016) (warrantless searches can deter wrongdoing and help detect violations)