What are "special conditions" of probation? How are they applied? Use examples from the text in your essay.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Special conditions are additional stipulations tailored to fit the problems and needs of an offender. For example, defendants might be mandated to take classes in literacy, pay restitution to victims, not be allowed in certain areas (such as schools), or seek mental health treatment. Special conditions should be applied clearly, without ambiguity, and must be considered reasonable. The definition of reasonable conditions depends on an offender's circumstances and is decided on a case-by-case basis. For example, requiring an employed offender with a good-paying job to pay $500 each month in restitution may be reasonable, but the same condition would be unreasonable if it were imposed on an indigent probationer with a sixth-grade education and no marketable job skills. Legislatures or Congress simply cannot address each case individually and are unable to closely tailor the condition to the offender, and such inability may create discrepancies between governmental branches. For example, if a state legislature added a mandated condition that all probationers pay restitution, it could conflict with the judicial branch's precedent that the offender must have the ability to pay. This type of situation could set up intergovernmental conflict and create a debtor's prison. Obviously, both branches wish to achieve justice in a fair manner, but determining the concept of fairness is sometimes complex and requires knowledge of individual cases.