Fifth Circuit Notes Split Re Propriety of Internet Restrictions During Probation for Sex Crime Convicts

Per U.S. v. Miller, --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 6160220 (5th Cir. Dec. 13, 2011):

[W]e acknowledge that there is some tension among various courts of appeals' opinions regarding the reasonableness of restrictions on computer use and Internet access [for sex crime convicts].^FN63

FN63. See United States v. Sullivan, 451 F.3d 884, 895 (D.C.Cir.2006) (observing “[t]his circuit has yet to decide whether individuals convicted of sex crimes may have their Internet usage conditioned on Probation Office approval, and our sister circuits are divided on the issue.”) (comparing United States v. Rearden, 349 F.3d 608, 621 (9th Cir.2003), and United States v. Zinn, 321 F.3d 1084, 1093 (11th Cir.2003), with Crume, 422 F.3d at 733, and United States v. Sofsky, 287 F.3d 122, 126 (2d Cir.2002)).