USA v. William Lovele, No. 10-30202 (9th Cir. 2011)
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Defendant, a juvenile, appealed the imposition of a condition of supervised release that he register as a sex offender "if required by law." At issue was whether it was within the district court's discretion to impose a condition of supervised release that a defendant comply with mandatory legal duties. The court held that district courts commonly and properly impose a condition of supervised release that the defendant not violate federal, state, or local laws and therefore rejected defendant's facial challenge of the condition of supervised release.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on March 14, 2011.
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FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. W.P.L., a juvenile, Defendant-Appellant.    No. 10-30202 D.C. No. 6:03-cr-00022CCL-1 ORDER AMENDING OPINION AND AMENDED OPINION Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana Charles C. Lovell, Senior District Judge, Presiding Submitted March 7, 2011* Portland, Oregon Filed March 14, 2011 Amended March 30, 2011 Before: Sidney R. Thomas, Susan P. Graber, and Richard C. Tallman, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam Opinion *The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). 4201 4202 UNITED STATES v. W.P.L. COUNSEL Michael Donahoe, Federal Defenders of Montana, Helena, Montana, for the defendant-appellant. Paulette L. Stewart, Assistant United States Attorney, Helena, Montana, for the plaintiff-appellee. ORDER The per curiam opinion filed March 14, 2011, is amended as follows: On slip opinion page 3545, lines 1-4, delete: See United States v. T.K.N., 286 F. App x 388, 389-90 (9th Cir. 2008) (unpublished) (rejecting a facial challenge to a nearly identical condition of supervised release). and replace with: See United States v. Talbert, 501 F.3d 449, 452 (5th Cir. 2007) (rejecting a challenge to a term of supervised release that the defendant register as a sex offender under state law if required to do so because it is axiomatic that a district court can include as a condition that the defendant obey the law ). UNITED STATES v. W.P.L. 4203 On slip opinion page 3545, lines 11-14, delete: See id. at 390 n.2 (holding that the defendant may bring an as-applied challenge to a nearly identical condition of supervised release only if the district court later revokes supervised release). The original due date for filing petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc shall remain in effect. OPINION PER CURIAM: Defendant W.P.L., a juvenile, appeals the district court s imposition of a condition of supervised release that he register as a sex offender if required by law. Reviewing for abuse of discretion, United States v. T.M., 330 F.3d 1235, 1240 n.2 (9th Cir. 2003), we affirm. The district court did not make a legal determination that Defendant must register as a sex offender. Instead, it imposed the condition that he register only if required by law. 1 It is within a district court s discretion to impose a condition of supervised release that a defendant comply with mandatory legal duties. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Indeed, district courts commonly and properly impose a condition of supervised release that the defendant not violate federal, state, or local laws. We therefore reject Defendant s facial challenge to the condition 1 Defendant expresses concern that the district court s oral pronouncement at the sentencing hearing varies from its written pronouncement, quoted in text. Cf. United States v. Bergmann, 836 F.2d 1220, 1222 (9th Cir. 1988) (holding that, in cases of direct conflict between a court s oral pronouncement of sentence and the written judgment, the oral pronouncement controls). We see no direct conflict. In context, it is apparent that the condition placed on Defendant s supervised release was that he comply with federal and state sex-offender registration requirements. If those requirements do not apply to him, then compliance with the district court s oral pronouncement requires nothing of him. 4204 UNITED STATES v. W.P.L. of supervised release. See United States v. Talbert, 501 F.3d 449, 452 (5th Cir. 2007) (rejecting a challenge to a term of supervised release that the defendant register as a sex offender under state law if required to do so because it is axiomatic that a district court can include as a condition that the defendant obey the law ). Our decision does not foreclose an as-applied challenge in some later proceeding should the district court revoke Defendant s release and should Defendant seek to challenge whether he was subject to the particular registration law at issue. In this appeal, though, the question whether Defendant must in fact register under federal or state law is not ripe for decision. AFFIRMED.
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