Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer

Technology gives us alternatives for serving time in an Orange County jail or other local jail. Home Confinement, or “Supervised Electronic Confinement” (SEC), allows greater flexibility for people who are scheduled for incarceration that allows them to continue employment without interruption, continue educational commitments, live with or be visited by family and friends, and complete court-ordered programs (such as DUI offender classes) in a civilian environment.

Admission into the home confinement program must be approved by the court. What that means is that you have to make a case to an Orange County or local California court that you are sufficiently medically impaired or disabled in another way that would make it difficult for you to serve time in custody.

If you have been convicted of a crime in California, you are eligible to participate in the home confinement program and serve your sentence in the privacy of your own home. In order to qualify for home confinement (“house arrest”), you must demonstrate to the court that:

• You are a low risk, nonviolent offender.
• You are not prohibited from the program by the sentencing judge.
• You have been sentence to county jail.
• You have a permanent or temporary residence in or near the county in which you were sentenced.
• You have a compatible telephone in the residence.
• You agree to Supervised Electronic Confinement (SEC) rules.
• You have the ability to pay for the extra services required.

Many people are sentenced to jail – however, a great number of these people never step one foot into a jail cell. There are laws that allow for defendants to complete their jail time in alternative programs. This type of sentencing requires a person to remain at home, but at the same time, allows you to continue the activities which are necessary to your well-being and existence (such as attending work, school, Dr. appointments, attorney, court or DMV appearances, shop for necessities, care for your children and / or provide necessary care for a loved one who may be ill or otherwise unable to care for themselves).

There is usually a nominal cost that is associated with the program. Cost can range from about $12 to $15 per day, on average. Cost varies on a sliding scale depending on your income and ability to pay. Note that acceptance into the program is not determined by ability to pay.

There are other considerations and rules about home incarceration in California:

Under this program, there’s no such thing as time off for good behavior. For instance, you do not get day-for-day credit (“half time”) during your sentence. You must serve the full length of the sentence ruled by the sentencing judge.

There’s the ankle bracelet required during your incarceration. This is the monitoring device that makes it possible for this kind of program. You are prohibited from submerging it under water – that means no swimming or bathing. Showers only.

You are responsible for making sure that the ankle bracelet is fully charged. Some devices must be electrically charged up to one hour, twice a day. That means plugging the device into an electrical outlet and waiting an hour. You are in violation of your confinement conditions if the unit runs out of power.

Home confinement is administered through the county probation department. You may have to report frequently to a probationer officer and show that you have complied with the other terms of your confinement such as attending counseling, therapy, self-help AA meetings.

Violations of your home confinement conditions include perimeter violations, curfew violations, damage or loss to the monitoring equipment, and so forth. Some violations may cause you to be arrested and terminated from the program.

Home electronic confinement is arranged by either the probation department or a private company.

The Law Offices of Stull & Stull are experts in finding alternatives to incarceration. Many of our clients are business people, have families and other serious commitments. Our clients often can demonstrate that they will suffer irreparable harm and undue hardship if they are subjected to traditional incarceration. Our office works hard to explore and use every possible alternative for them, thus often avoiding actual jail time.