Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
William David Harden appealed from a judgment of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in a criminal case. The appeal concerned conditions of supervised release imposed on Harden.
The government filed an unopposed motion asking the Fifth Circuit to modify the judgment by removing two conditions and replacing them with conditions from the original judgment. Alternatively, the government requested a remand for the district court to make those changes and sought additional time to file its brief if the court denied the requested relief.
The Court’s Holding
In an unpublished per curiam order, the Fifth Circuit granted the government’s unopposed motion to modify the judgment and affirmed it as modified. The court struck Standard Condition 5 and replaced it with the original judgment’s Standard Condition 6, requiring Harden to notify the probation office within 72 hours of any change in residence or employment.
The court also struck Standard Condition 7 and replaced it with the original judgment’s Standard Condition 5, requiring Harden to work regularly at a lawful occupation unless the probation office excuses him for schooling, training, or another acceptable reason. Because the court directly modified and affirmed the judgment, it denied as unnecessary the government’s alternative requests for a remand and an extension of time to file its brief.
Key Takeaways
- The Fifth Circuit directly modified Harden’s supervised-release conditions rather than remanding the case.
- The modified judgment restored notice-of-change and lawful-occupation conditions from the original judgment.
- The court affirmed the judgment as modified and denied the government’s alternative procedural requests as unnecessary.
Why It Matters
The order shows that an appellate court may directly correct supervised-release conditions when the requested modifications are clear and unopposed, avoiding an unnecessary remand. It also underscores the importance of ensuring that the written judgment accurately states the conditions governing a defendant’s supervised release.