United States v. Sandidge

Officers found a loaded revolver in Sandidge’s living room while investigating a report that he attempted to sexually assault a woman at gunpoint. Sandidge pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The judge imposed a sentence of 92 months in prison plus two years of supervised release. Sandidge's alcohol abuse played a role in the crime and in his earlier criminal conduct. The court imposed a special supervised-release condition prohibiting the use of any mood-altering substance. The Seventh Circuit remanded for resentencing in light of cases requiring a particularized explanation of conditions of supervised release. On resentencing the judge prohibited the “excessive use of alcohol,” defined as including “any use of alcohol that adversely affects [the] defendant’s employment, relationships, or ability to comply with the conditions of supervision.” The Seventh Circuit affirmed as modified. The vagueness doctrine requires that legal mandates be clear enough to give fair notice to those who must comply and to guard against arbitrary enforcement. The “adversely affects” language is loose and indeterminate, raising concerns about arbitrariness in enforcement. The court modified the condition to prohibit the use of alcohol that “materially adversely affects the defendant’s employment, relationships, or ability to comply with the conditions of supervision.” View "United States v. Sandidge" on Justia Law