Supervised Release Condition Improperly Delegated Authority to Probation Officer

United States v. Cabral, 2019 WL 2416950 (10th Cir. June 10, 2019) (CO): The panel vacates Cabral’s sentence because the district court’s supervised release condition regarding ‘risk notification’ improperly delegated its authority to the probation office. At sentencing, the district court imposed a ‘standard risk notification condition’ whereby the probation office determines if the accused poses a risk to another and if so, may require the accused to notify the person about that risk. Because this condition grants the probation office decision-making authority that could infringe on a wide variety of Cabral’s liberty interests (such as interfering with his right of familial association by ordering him to tell his family members he poses a risk to them or impermissibly restricting employment opportunities by directing him to warn an employer about a perceived risk), the panel found it is an improper delegation of judicial power.