Jurisdiction – Supervised Release

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States America v. Dino Greco

Case No.: 18-3496

Officials: KANNE, SYKES, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Jurisdiction – Supervised Release

Dino Greco spent more than a decade in prison for blowing up his ex-girlfriend’s car with a pipe bomb. In 2015 he began a term of supervised release, and one of the conditions was that he not break federal, state, or local law. He violated that condition three years later when he posted threatening Facebook messages about a second ex-girlfriend despite a court order not to contact her. A federal judge approved a warrant for Greco’s arrest, and seven months later a second judge revoked his supervised release and ordered a new term of imprisonment, to be followed by a new term of supervised release.

On appeal Greco argues that the court lacked jurisdiction to revoke his supervised release because the warrant wasn’t supported by probable cause. We disagree. The judge received a report explaining how Greco had broken the terms of his release by violating state law, and that was enough to establish probable cause.

Greco also challenges two of the conditions the court imposed for his second term of supervised release. We remand with respect to both so that the lower court can clarify several terms and further explain its reasoning.

Affirmed in part. Vacated and remanded in part.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.