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Scarlet Letter Punishment: Yesterday's Outlawed Penalty Is Today's Probation Condition, Leonore H. Tavill

Cleveland State Law Review

The use of alternatives has sparked a whole host of new issues. The most significant of these new issues is the determination of who should or should not receive probation' and what kind of probation condition can be justified for certain criminals. Desperation, indefinite statutory provisions, and the resulting judicial discretion afforded to those on the bench has led to the imposition of some probation conditions which are unnecessarily harsh, unjustified, and possibly unconstitutional. Of particular concern is the growing use of "scarlet letter" probation conditions which require signs to be posted on the offender's property warning the public by …