Opinion ID: 794683
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Plethysmograph Testing as a Condition of Supervised Release

Text: 65 In light of these observations by courts and commentators alike, we cannot say categorically that, despite the questions of reliability, plethysmograph testing can never reasonably promote at least one, if not all three, of the relevant goals laid out in § 3553(a)(2) — namely, deterrence, public protection, and rehabilitation. As the Fourth Circuit, the only circuit to address the permissibility of plethysmograph testing as a condition of supervised release, has held, plethysmograph testing is regarded as useful for treatment of sex offenders in appropriate circumstances and thus can be reasonably related to treatment, fostering deterrence, and protecting the public. United States v. Dotson, 324 F.3d 256, 261 (4th Cir.2003) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting United States v. Powers, 59 F.3d 1460, 1471 (4th Cir.1995)); see also Walrath v. United States, 830 F.Supp. 444, 446-47 (N.D. Ill.1993) (upholding plethysmograph testing as a condition of parole against Fourth and Fifth Amendment challenges, concluding that [t]he fact that two recommended institutions require the plethysmograph as an evaluative tool suggests that it serves a useful function in the treatment of sexual deviance); State v. Riles, 135 Wash.2d 326, 957 P.2d 655, 668 (1998) (upholding plethysmograph testing as part of a treatment program for a sexual offender in light of the observation that such testing is an effective method for diagnosing and treating sex offenders). 66 To so conclude, however, is not the end of the story. First, although we recognize that plethysmograph testing can reasonably promote the goals of supervised release, the question of whether it will promote those goals in a particular case must be an individualized determination. Section 3583(d)(1) requires that conditions of supervised release be reasonably related to the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant. See §§ 3583(d)(1), 3553(a)(1). This tailoring requirement is all the more important in cases such as this, where a particularly strong liberty interest is at stake. To satisfy the standard that a supervised release condition be reasonably related to the statutory goals in the particular circumstances, a district court must consider whether, given the level of intrusion required by the test, its noted flaws, and its downsides, 16 plethysmograph testing is sufficiently likely, given a defendant's specific characteristics, to yield sufficiently useful results. Only a finding that plethysmograph testing is likely given the defendant's characteristics and criminal background to reap its intended benefits can justify the intrusion into a defendant's significant liberty interest in his own bodily integrity. 67 Second, conditions of supervised release must also involve `no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary for the purposes' of supervised release. T.M., 330 F.3d at 1240 (quoting § 3583(d)(2)). There are alternatives available in the treatment of sexual offenders that are considerably less intrusive than plethysmograph testing and may be sufficiently accurate. See Laws, supra, at 99; Marshall & Fernandez, supra, at 817; Odeshoo, supra, at 13-16. 68 For example, sexual offenders are often treated through self-reporting interviews, during which the subject is asked about his sexual preferences. Odeshoo, supra, at 14. Other sexual offender programs rely on a card-sorting test, which involves asking the individual to sort cards depicting sexual images into deviant and non-deviant categories. Id. Although these techniques have been criticized for their susceptibility to faking on the part of the subject, see id., plethysmograph testing, as we have observed, is not immune from this criticism. The effectiveness of these procedures in the treatment of sexual offenders is disputed among the experts, with one commentator noting that some researchers believe that basic self-reporting . . . is as effective as [plethysmograph testing] or other techniques, id., and another study concluding that the psychometric data on these alternative approaches is far less satisfactory than for phallometrics, Marshall & Fernandez, supra, at 817. 69 Another non-physiological test which also appears to enjoy routine use in sexual offender programs is Abel testing. Abel testing, which was also required in this case but is not challenged by Weber, involves exhibiting photographs to an individual and measuring the length of time he looks at each picture. See Odeshoo, supra, at 13. This procedure is much less intrusive into the body and somewhat less intrusive into the mind of a defendant than plethysmograph testing. Much like plethysmography, the effectiveness and reliability of Abel testing is the subject of some debate. See id. at 14; Marshall & Fernandez, supra, at 817. One researcher, however, has deemed Abel testing to be a promising development. Laws, supra, at 99. Given that Abel testing is not properly before us, we do not set forth any opinion as to its propriety in this, or any other case. We discuss the procedure only to point out the existence of a less intrusive alternative to plethysmograph testing that enjoys similar, if not more, support among researchers. The appropriateness of Abel testing in a particular case should, of course, be left to the district court judge and probation officer, with appropriate expert consultation. 70 Ordinary polygraph testing is another possible viable alternative to plethysmograph testing that can be considered by district courts as they fashion supervised release conditions. Already more common in sexual offender treatment programs than plethysmograph testing, polygraph testing is much less costly to administer and appears to be at least as valid and reliable as the plethysmograph (if not more so). Odeshoo, supra, at 14-15. Most importantly, a polygraph examination may well be preferable by virtue of its less intrusive and controversial character. id. at 16. 17 71 The existence of non-physiological, lessintrusive alternatives to plethysmograph testing, including interviews, card-sorting, and Abel and polygraph testing, is, self-evidently, highly relevant to the question of whether plethysmograph testing involves no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary to serve the purposes of supervised release. § 3583(d)(2); see also T.M., 330 F.3d at 1240. As we have indicated, imposing such testing as a condition of supervised release implicates a liberty interest sufficiently weighty to trigger the enhanced procedural requirements established in Williams. When viable and effective alternatives exist to plethysmograph testing, a procedure that involves intrusion on an especially significant liberty interest, a district court should be hesitant to impose that procedure as a supervised release condition and may do so only after explaining on the record why the alternatives are inadequate.