Court Opinion

ID: 9913022
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-26 17:08:35.381682+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:06:48.075325
License: Public Domain

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

  COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA                 :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
                                               :
  JUSTIN FRANKLIN CAMPBELL                     :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :   No. 1394 WDA 2022

            Appeal from the Order Entered November 17, 2022
  In the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County Criminal Division at No(s):
                        CP-25-CR-0002641-2020

BEFORE:       BENDER, P.J.E., McCAFFERY, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.:                       FILED: December 26, 2023

       Justin Franklin Campbell (Appellant) appeals from the order entered in

the Erie County Court of Common Pleas, denying his motion to strike certain

conditions of his probation, which were imposed by Erie County Adult

Probation and Parole Department four months after he entered a negotiated

guilty plea to corruption of minors1 and was sentenced.          The conditions

Appellant challenges prohibit him from: (1) living with or having direct or

indirect contact with any person under the age of 18, despite the fact Appellant

was living with his one-year-old child; (2) accessing the internet, without prior

permission from the probation department; and (3) loitering within 1,000 feet

____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

1 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301(a)(1)(i).
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of an area where the primary activity involves persons under age 18. The trial

court found the probation department adequately explained how these

conditions related to Appellant, his offense, and the safety of the community.

Trial Ct. Op., 2/2/23, at 4.       On appeal, Appellant contends, inter alia, the

proper analysis is instead whether the probation department’s conditions have

the necessary nexus to the trial court’s sentencing order, and here, they do

not.2 We agree, and thus vacate the order and remand for the trial court to

apply the proper review.

                               I. Procedural History

       On April 28, 2022, Appellant entered a negotiated plea to one count of

corruption of minors.         The Commonwealth recited the following factual

summary: in June of 2020, Appellant, then approximately 26 years old,

engaged in vaginal, anal, or oral sex with the victim, a 15-year-old girl. See

N.T., 4/28/22, at 4, 6.           It was a “consensual act,” although, as the

Commonwealth pointed out, the victim was not old enough to consent. Id. at

5. When asked how he met the victim, Appellant stated his neighbor asked

him to pick her up and bring her to his town, “because their parents were drug

addicts[ ] and [the victim was] getting abused.”        Id. at 8-9.   The parties

____________________________________________

2  As we discuss infra, Appellant does not challenge the probation
department’s general authority to impose conditions of supervision, but
instead argues these particular conditions are not sufficiently related to the
trial court’s conditions of probation.

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agreed to a sentence of five years’ restrictive probation, with the first ten

months on electronic monitoring. Id. at 3. The Commonwealth stated that

in agreeing to this recommended sentence, it considered that Appellant was

working and was a caretaker to his own one-year old child and the seven- and

ten-year old children of his partner, with whom he lived. See id. at 7; N.T.,

11/14/22, at 8.

       The trial court accepted Appellant’s plea and immediately imposed the

agreed-upon sentence. N.T., 4/28/22, at 4, 9. The court also ordered: (1)

an evaluation for sexual offender counseling; (2) drug and alcohol and mental

health evaluations; and (3) no contact with the victim. Id. at 9-10.

       Four months later, on September 20, 2022, Appellant filed the

counseled, underlying motion to strike “extrajudicial” conditions of probation.

Appellant’s Motion [to] Strike the Extrajudicial Conditions of Probation,

9/20/22, at 1 (unpaginated). Appellant averred the following: on September

1st, he was assigned two new probation offers and was told, under threat of

imprisonment, to sign a form entitled, “Conditions of Supervision: Sex

Offenders or Those Convicted of a Crime that is Sexual in Nature” (the IASOP3

Contract). Id. at 1. This contract prohibited Appellant from living with any

child, and as a result, his own child was removed from his house, despite the

facts the child was not an alleged victim and the court had not ordered any

____________________________________________

3 Integrative Adult Sex Offender Program.        See N.T., 11/14/22, at 6.

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such removal. Id. at 1-2. Furthermore, the contract prohibited Appellant

from accessing the internet or coming within 1,000 feet of, inter alia, schools

and playgrounds, and it required him to complete a sexual offender program.

Id.   Appellant argued these conditions were not only extreme, but also

exceeded the scope of authority of the trial court’s sentencing order and had

no nexus to the underlying crime. See id. at 2.

       The trial court conducted a hearing on November 14, 2022.         In his

testimony, Appellant reiterated the probation department informed him he

could be in violation of probation if he did not sign the IASOP Contract. N.T.,

11/14/22, at 16. Furthermore, he was told his child, along with his partner’s

children, would have to move out that same day, and the children in fact have

moved out. Id. at 21-22.

       The Commonwealth presented Erie County Parole and Probation Officer

(PO) Timothy Hardner, who testified to the following.       He worked in the

probation department’s IASOP program. Generally, when a probationer has

“plead[ed] to a sexual assault[4] and is sentenced for an evaluation for the sex

offender treatment program,” his department will supervise them in the IASOP

program. N.T., 11/14/22, at 7. The IASOP Contract was drafted by “multiple

____________________________________________

4As stated above, in this case, Appellant pleaded guilty to corruption of
minors.

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counties” and “approved by the courts.”5 Id. at 27. The department requests

the probationer sign the IASOP Contract before they are evaluated “in an

effort to keep the community safe until” the evaluation is completed. Id. at

7-8. If the evaluation establishes the probationer does not need treatment,

other conditions in the contract would nevertheless remain in effect, for

example a prohibition against possessing pornography. Id. at 10. In addition

to the IASOP Contract, a probationer is subject to “[t]he standard probation

contract[, which also] has some sex offender conditions[.]” Id. at 7.

       With respect to Appellant specifically, PO Hardner denied telling him he

would go to prison if he did not sign the contract.6 N.T., 11/14/22, at 8. The

PO further testified: although he told Appellant he could not have contact with

his partner’s two children, he could live with and have contact with his own

biological child. Id. at 9. PO Hardner stated that generally, the probation

department does not restrict contact with a biological child, unless they were

the victim.     Id.   Additionally, PO Hardner stated that in general, IASOP

conditions may become “less restrictive” on “a case-by-case” basis, as a

probationer “move[s] through the program;” for example, the probationer

____________________________________________

5 This statement was not made during the PO’s formal testimony, but rather

while the trial court and parties argued the issue. See N.T., 11/14/22, at 27.

6 PO Hardner stated the four-month delay between sentencing and Appellant’s

first meeting with him was due to the PO’s learning “about [this] case later
than normal.” N.T., 11/14/22, at 22-23.

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may “be able to have contact with minors so long as all the bases are covered.”

Id. at 11, 13. Finally, PO Hardner explained: Appellant was not in violation

of his probation; the evaluation for sexual offender counseling had yet to be

scheduled; but “it was agreed [Appellant] would not have to go further with

any proceeding until” the underlying motion to strike the supervisory

conditions was resolved. Id. at 9-10.

      On cross-examination, PO Hardner conceded: (1) the plain language of

the IASOP Contract did not include an exception allowing contact with

biological children; and (2) no new contract is executed if a restriction is lifted

or loosened, and instead, the probationer remains bound by the original IASOP

Contract. N.T., 11/14/22, at 12-13, 15. Furthermore, the contract provided

the probationer “would follow all of [the] restrictions,” and PO Hardner

acknowledged that a violation of any of these terms could result in revocation

proceedings. Id. at 12-13.

      The trial court asked whether there was “a responsibility to have a lot

more of [these IASOP conditions] explained at the actual sentencing.” N.T.,

11/14/22, at 23. The Commonwealth acknowledged: “Possibly[. I]t might be

a matter [sic] of giving the contract [to the defendant] at the time of the

sentencing.” Id. The trial court also commented that “maybe some language

in [the contract] should be firmed up a little bit.” Id. at 27. Nevertheless,

the Commonwealth argued the probation department must be able to “make

some . . . guidelines and parameters for individuals [who have] been

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convicted of” sexual offenses. Id. at 23. Appellant responded the imposition

of the instant supervisory conditions on a probationer was outside the

probation department’s “wheelhouse.” Id. at 24.

      On November 17, 2022, the trial court entered the underlying order,

denying Appellant’s motion to strike the conditions of supervision. In response

to the trial court’s direction, Appellant filed a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement of

matters complained of on appeal.

                     II. Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) Statement

      Preliminarily, we consider the suggestion, made by both the trial court

and the Commonwealth, that Appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement failed to

identify the particular supervisory conditions he was challenging, and thus his

issues should be found waived for vagueness pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.

1925(b)(4).   See Trial Ct. Op. 2/2/23, at 3; Commonwealth’s Brief at 5.

Appellant responds his statement was sufficiently detailed, and in any event,

“[g]iven the narrow issue presented in the motion/hearing, . . . the challenged

conditions would not, and did not, come as any surprise to the trial court.”

Appellant’s Brief at 16.

      “Rule 1925(b)(4)(ii) provides that the Rule 1925(b) statement ‘shall

concisely identify each error that the appellant intends to assert with sufficient

detail to identify the issue to be raised for the judge.’” Commonwealth v.

Price, 284 A.3d 165, 170 (Pa. 2022) (emphasis omitted), citing Pa.R.A.P.

1925(b)(4)(ii).

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     However, in Commonwealth v. Laboy, 936 A.2d 1058 (Pa. 2007), our

Supreme Court allowed a broad Rule 1925(b) claim of insufficient evidence in

what it deemed was a “relatively straightforward drug case.” Id. at 1060. In

that case, while the Commonwealth alleged the defendant acted as a lookout

and money handler in multiple drug sales, “the evidentiary presentation

span[ned] a mere [30] pages of transcript[,]” and the trial court “readily

apprehended [the defendant’s] claim and addressed it in substantial detail.”

Id. at 1058, 1060.

     In this appeal, Appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement raised the following

claims:

     1. This Honorable Court abused its discretion in delegating its
     duties of imposition of conditions of probation to the Adult
     Probation Department after date of sentencing.

     2. This Honorable Court abused its discretion in allowing the Adult
     Probation Department to impose unduly restrictive conditions in
     the new probation contract than the actual sentenced imposed
     where no nexus was established.

     3.   This Honorable Court abused its discretion in denying
     Appellant[‘]s Motion to Strike the Extrajudicial Conditions pf
     Probation.

Appellant’s Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal, 12/15/22.

     While it is true Appellant did not identify the particular conditions of

supervision he wished to challenge, we agree with his summation that the one

issue presented in both his motion and at the hearing was narrow: he was

challenging the IASOP Contract’s prohibitions against him living with any

minor, having internet access, and coming within 1,000 feet of a place where

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the primary activity involves minors. Indeed, the trial court identified these

conditions in its opinion. Trial Ct. Op. at 3-4. Accordingly, under the guidance

of LaBoy, we decline to find waiver for vagueness.                See Pa.R.A.P.

1925(b)(4)(ii); Laboy, 936 A.2d at 1058, 1060.

                        III. Appellant’s Arguments

      On appeal, Appellant presents one issue for our review:

      Did the trial court err when it denied Appellant’s motion to strike
      the extrajudicial conditions of probation as (1) the trial court may
      not delegate the imposition of probation conditions to the adult
      probation department after sentencing, and (2) the probationary
      conditions imposed by the adult probation department were
      unreasonable as they lacked any nexus to the underlying
      offense[?]

Appellant’s Brief at 2 (some capitalization omitted).

      As   stated   above,   Appellant   does   not   challenge   the   probation

department’s general authority to impose conditions of supervision. Instead,

he argues the trial court erred in denying his motion to strike these particular

conditions of the IASOP Contract: that he is prohibited from living with, having

contact with, and even possessing photographs of any minor; that he may not

access the internet; and that he may not come within 1,000 feet of any place,

including schools and recreation areas, where the primary activity involves

minors.

      First, Appellant contends the above supervisory conditions lack a

sufficient nexus to the trial court’s sentencing order or the underlying offense.

He points out that at sentencing, the Commonwealth did not seek, and the

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court did not impose, any restrictions on his ability to live with, have contact

with, or possess photographs of minors, aside from the victim. Appellant’s

Brief at 22.    Instead, Appellant maintains, the court imposed only the

following: drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, payment of costs;

no contact with the victim; and an evaluation for sexual offender counseling.

Appellant’s Brief at 19. Appellant insists that none of the “new, much broader

[IASOP] proscriptions upon [his] liberty [were] ordered or deemed necessary

by the court at sentencing.” Id. at 22.

      To this end, Appellant also reasons the IASOP conditions could be

considered to “run contrary to the trial court’s intentions at sentencing.”

Appellant’s Brief at 22. In support, Appellant reiterates the Commonwealth:

(1) had considered his role as a caretaker to children, along with his

employment, when it agreed to a sentencing recommendation of probation;

and (2) did not seek any restriction on Appellant’s ability to care for these

children. Id.

      Appellant further asserts that while a condition of “no contact” with the

victim or other minors is appropriate in some cases, such a condition must be

individually tailored to the circumstances.       Appellant’s Brief at 25-26.

Appellant alleges the present condition, that he have no contact with his one-

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year-old child or his partner’s children, is unreasonable.7              See id. at 26.

Additionally, the prohibition against accessing the internet is not reasonable,

where there was no evidence Appellant used the computer or internet for

sexually explicit materials or as a source to establish inappropriate

relationships. Id. Appellant concludes the trial court improperly delegated to

the probation department the imposition of conditions that lacked a nexus to

the underlying offense. Id. at 15, 24 n.3.

       Finally, Appellant claims we cannot excuse the probation department’s

alleged inability to craft individual supervision contracts for each probationer.

Appellant’s Brief at 23, citing N.T., 11/14/22, at 28-29 (Commonwealth

arguing the “probation department is doing the best job they can to make it

a case-by-case basis[, but t]hey can’t craft the probation contracts separately

for each person”). Appellant argues that on the contrary, the conditions of

probation    must     be    individualized.        Appellant’s   Brief   at   23,   citing

Commonwealth v. Koren, 646 A.2d 1205, 1208 (Pa. Super. 1994) (“A

probation order is unique and individualized.”). We conclude Appellant has

presented a meritorious claim for relief.

____________________________________________

7 We note “the right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and
control of one’s children is one of the oldest fundamental rights protected by
the Due Process Clause.” In re A.J.R.-H., 188 A.3d 1157, 1178-79 (Pa.
2018).

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    IV. Law on Probation Department’s Conditions of Supervision

       We first consider the relevant law:

       Our Supreme Court has distinguished between “conditions of
       probation,” which are imposed by a trial court, and “conditions of
       supervision,” which are imposed by the Board and its agents.
       [Commonwealth v. Elliott, 50 A.3d 1284, 1291-92 (Pa. 2012).]

       The Sentencing Code permits trial courts to set forth “reasonable
       conditions authorized by [former subsection 9754(c)8] as it deems
       necessary to insure or assist the defendant in leading a law-
       abiding life.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754(b).

            [Former subsection 9754(c)] delineates fourteen
            conditions a sentencing court may impose upon a
            defendant in the imposition of probation[, including
            directing them] to attend treatment and addiction
            programs, pay fines and restitution, and refrain from
            frequenting “unlawful or disreputable places.”          [42
            Pa.C.S.] § 9754(c)(12), (8), (11), and (6), respectively.
            Further, subsection (c)(13) provides a “catch-all” for trial
            courts, allowing them to order defendants “[t]o satisfy
            any other conditions reasonably related to the
            rehabilitation of the defendant and not unduly restrictive
            of his liberty or incompatible with his freedom of
            conscience.” Id. § 9754(c)(13).

       [Elliott, 50 A.3d at 1288.]

           The Board’s authority to set forth conditions of supervision,
       on the other hand, is derived from [former] sections 6131 and
       6151 of the Prisons and Parole Code, which mandate that the
       Board and its agents establish uniform standards for the
____________________________________________

8 At the time Elliott was decided, then-in effect Subsection 9754(c) set forth

the specific probation conditions that a trial court could impose. See Elliott,
50 A.3d at 1288. This list of conditions now appears at Subsection 9763(c).
See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9763(b)(1)-(15) (permissible probation conditions include:
meeting family responsibilities, undergoing counseling or drug and alcohol
screening, attending educational or vocational programs, and paying fines or
restitution).

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       supervision of probationers under its authority and implement
       those standards and conditions.       Id. (citing 61 Pa.C.S.
       §§ 6131(a)(5)(ii) & 6151). [9]

            After examining the interplay between the Crimes Codes and
       Prisons and Parole Code, our Supreme Court concluded that while
       only the trial court could set conditions of probation, “the Board
       and its agents may impose conditions of supervision that
       are germane to, elaborate on, or interpret any conditions
       of probation that are imposed by the trial court.” Id. at
____________________________________________

9 We note Sections 6131(a)(5)(ii) and 6151 were repealed in 2020 and 2021,

respectively. Nevertheless, their provisions presently appear in other sections
of the Prisons and Parole Code, as follows.

     Former Subsection 6131(a)(5)(ii) stated: “The board shall have the
power and its duty shall be: . . . [t]o establish, by regulation, uniform
Statewide standards for . . . [t]he supervision of probationers.” 61 Pa.C.S. §
6131(a)(5)(ii), repealed by Act 2019-115 (S.B. 501), § 18, approved
December 18, 2019, eff. Feb. 17, 2020.

      Current Subsection 6171(a)(11)(ii) provides almost identical language:
“The department shall have the following powers and duties: . . . [t]o
establish, by regulation, uniform Statewide standards for . . . [t]he supervision
of probationers.” See 61 Pa.C.S. § 6171(a)(11)(ii).

       Similarly, Section 6151, a definitions section, included the following
definition for “conditions of supervision:” “Any terms or conditions of the
offender’s supervision, whether imposed by the court, the board or an agent,
including compliance with all requirements of Federal, State and local law.”
See 61 Pa.C.S. § 6151, repealed Act 2021-59 (S.B. 411), § 23, approved June
30, 2021, eff. June 30, 2021.

      The current Section 6101 includes generally the same definition, with
minor revisions not relevant here: “Any terms or conditions of the offender’s
supervision, whether imposed by the court, the department or an agent, or
promulgated by the board as a regulation, including compliance with all
requirements of Federal, State and local law.” See 61 Pa.C.S. § 6101.

       Accordingly, we conclude the repealed statutory provisions, discussed
in Elliott and pertaining to the Probation Department’s authority to impose
conditions of supervision, live on in current Sections 6171(a)(11)(ii) and 6151.

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      1292. Stated another way, the “trial court may impose conditions
      of probation in a generalized manner, and the Board or its agents
      may impose more specific conditions of supervision, so long as
      these supervision conditions are in furtherance of the trial court’s
      conditions of probation.” Id. Therefore, “a probationer may be
      detained, arrested, and ‘violated’ for failing to comply with either
      a condition of probation or a condition of supervision,” as long as
      the condition of supervision does not exceed the Board’s authority
      to impose it. Id.

Commonwealth v. Shires, 240 A.3d 974, 977-78 (Pa. Super. 2020)

(emphasis & paragraph break added).

                                 V. Analysis

      The trial court opinion addressed Appellant’s arguments, in sum, as

follows:

           At the hearing, [PO] Hardner adequately explained the
      extent to which these provisions related to Appellant, and
      the nexus between those safety precautions, the safety of
      the community and the sexual offense. See [N.T., 11/14/22,
      at 6-29.] The conditions of the probation contract will be reviewed
      with Appellant after his evaluation and are subject to mitigation
      depending on the results of the evaluation. Id.

           Implicit in the Court’s Sentencing Order that Appellant comply
      with the “Conditions of Supervision” is an understanding that
      Appellant is to comply with the standard probationary conditions
      for a person such as Appellant who is convicted of a sexual
      offense. No extra judicial conditions of probation were imposed
      and no abuse of discretion at sentencing or otherwise occurred as
      Appellant was presented with the standard IASOP [C]ontract. The
      appeal must be dismissed.

Trial Ct. Op. at 4 (emphasis added).

      We agree with the trial court that in addition to complying with

conditions of probation imposed by the court, Appellant must comply with any

proper conditions of supervision imposed by the probation department. See

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61 Pa.C.S. §§ 6131(a)(5)(ii), 6151; Elliott, 50 A.3d at 1288; Shires, 240

A.3d at 977.    However, we disagree with the trial court’s one sentence,

conclusory summation that here, the IASOP supervisory conditions were

proper because PO “Hardner adequately explained the extent to which these

provisions related to Appellant, and the nexus between those safety

precautions, the safety of the community and the sexual offense.” See Trial

Ct. Op. at 4.

      First, we conclude that these cited factors — whether a condition of

probation has a nexus to Appellant, his offense, or the protection of the

community —are for the trial court to consider in imposing a sentence. See

42 Pa.C.S. 9721(b) (trial court shall consider relevant sentencing factors,

including “the protection of the public, the gravity of the offense as it relates

to the impact on the life of the victim and on the community, and the

rehabilitative needs of the defendant”). To the extent Appellant avers the trial

court improperly conferred review of these factors to the probation

department, we agree. See Appellant’s Brief at 15 (“[T]he trial court may not

delegate the imposition of probation conditions to the adult probation

department after sentencing[.]”)

      Instead, the authority of the probation department to impose

conditions of supervision is limited by the conditions of probation

imposed by the trial court. See Elliott, 50 A.3d at 1288; Shires, 240 A.3d

at 977. Pursuant to Elliott, such conditions must be “germane to, elaborate

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on, or interpret any conditions of probation that are imposed by the trial

court,” and must be “in furtherance of the trial court’s conditions of probation.”

See Elliott, 50 A.3d at 1291-92; Shires 240 A.3d at 978. Here, the trial

court undertook no such analysis, and indeed, did not even mention the

conditions of probation it imposed.

      As stated above, the sole conditions of probation, imposed by the trial

court at the time of sentencing, were: (1) an evaluation for sexual offender

counseling; (2) drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations; and (3) no

contact with the victim. N.T., 4/28/22, at 9-10. As Appellant points out, the

Commonwealth contemplated his role as caretaker to his one-year-old child

and the minor children of his partner, when it agreed to a recommended

sentence of restrictive probation.    See id. at 7.    The Commonwealth also

acknowledged, “Appellant is a father, not related to this case in any way.” Id.

Neither the trial court nor the Commonwealth suggested it was proper to

prohibit Appellant from having contact with these children, or in fact any other

minors, with the exception of the victim. See id. at 7, 8.

      On the other hand, however, it appears the trial court credited the

testimony of PO Hardner that regardless of the plain language of the IASOP

Contract: (1) a probationer is never prohibited contact from their own

biological child (unless the child was the victim); and (2) if Appellant shows

progress and compliance with the IASOP Contract conditions, certain

restrictions may be lifted. See N.T., 11/14/22, at 27 (“[I]f you’re headed to

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where it’s supposed to be, these restrictions will be eased as time goes on,

and I think that’s the safest thing.”); Trial Ct. Op. at 4 (“The conditions of the

probation contract will be reviewed with Appellant after his evaluation and are

subject to mitigation depending on the results of the evaluation.”).

      Nevertheless, in light of myriad factors presented in this matter, we

decline to decide, in the first instance, whether the probation department

exceeded its authority when it imposed the IASOP conditions presently

challenged. Instead, we vacate the order denying Appellant’s motion to strike

the conditions of the IASOP Contract.         We remand for the trial court to

undertake a proper review under Elliott — namely, whether each of the

challenged conditions is “germane to, elaborate on, . . . interpret,” or is “in

furtherance of” the particular conditions of probation imposed by the trial court

at the time of sentencing. See Elliott, 50 A.3d at 1291-92; Shires 240 A.3d

at 978. The court may hear oral argument, direct the parties to brief this

issue, or undertake any other action to facilitate its review.

                                VI. Conclusion

      In sum, we determine the trial court applied improper factors in deciding

whether the probation department acted within its authority to impose the

supervisory conditions on Appellant.      We thus vacate the order denying

Appellant’s motion to strike conditions, and remand for further review.

      Order vacated. Case remanded for further proceedings consistent with

this memorandum. Jurisdiction relinquished.

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12/26/2023

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