Dunder v. State

Alaska Statute 12.55.100(e)(2)(A) allows a probation condition preventing offenders convicted of certain sexual offenses against children from "using or creating an Internet site." Alaska Statute 12.55.100(e)(2)(C) allows a condition preventing those offenders from "possessing or using a computer." In Dunder v. State, Mem. Op. & J. No. 5487, 2009 WL 1607917, at 1 (Alaska App. June 10, 2009) the Court recognized that such a condition may be unnecessarily restrictive: Under Roman v. State, parole and probation conditions "must be reasonably related to the rehabilitation of the offender and the protection of the public and must not be unduly restrictive of liberty." Dunder points out that it is difficult to function in modern society without access to the technology that Judge Smith's order prohibits him from possessing. He further suggests that, by the time he is released from his lengthy term of imprisonment, it will likely be even more difficult to function in society "without the use of at least one electronic device." Given the rapid advance of technology and the length of Dunder's sentence of imprisonment, we agree that some degree of access to these devices will probably be necessary to Dunder's reintegration into society. The Court concluded that a condition prohibiting Internet access could be reasonable only if the condition allows a probation officer to allow necessary Internet use under appropriate conditions. Many courts have approved similar conditions when the Internet ban can be relaxed or modified by a probation officer. See United States v. Crandon, 173 F.3d 122, 128 (3d Cir. 1999); United States v. Knight, 86 Fed. Appx. 2, 4 (5th Cir. 2003); United States v. Muhlenbruch, 682 F.3d 1096, 1104-05 (8th Cir. 2012); United States v. Antelope, 395 F.3d 1128, 1142 (9th Cir. 2005); United States v. Walser, 275 F.3d 981, 987-88 (10th Cir. 2001); United States v. Zinn, 321 F.3d 1084, 1092-93 (11th Cir. 2003); United States v. Love, 593 F.3d 1, 11-12, 389 U.S. App. D.C. 149 (D.C. Cir. 2010).