House arrest, also known as home confinement, serves as an alternative to incarceration in California. It is designed to allow certain individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses to serve their sentences at home rather than in jail or prison.
House arrest allows individuals to maintain their employment, care for their loved ones, or seek treatment for health issues while serving their sentence. This alternative to incarceration offers a sense of normalcy and continuity in life, which can be reassuring during challenging times.
It may also be utilized as part of a diversionary program, resulting in charges being dismissed upon completion of the program. Defense attorneys often attempt to leverage house arrest as an option as part of a plea agreement, especially if they can convince prosecutors and the judge that the defendant poses minimal flight risk and no threat to public safety.
While house arrest offers flexibility compared to traditional incarceration, it comes with strict conditions that ensure accountability. Violating the terms of home confinement, whether intentionally or unintentionally, can lead to significant legal repercussions.
In California, violating the terms of house arrest can lead to immediate arrest, a revocation hearing, and potentially the return to jail or prison to serve the remainder of the original sentence. The judge has discretion in handling violations, which can range from issuing a warning to revoking house arrest entirely.
What is Home Confinement?
California Penal Code 1203.016 PC addresses home confinement, also known as house arrest or home detention.
Sometimes, a judge can sentence a defendant to home confinement rather than requiring them to serve time in county or state prisons. House arrest is an option for both misdemeanors and felonies, but is typically reserved for nonviolent offenders serving time for minor crimes.
Suppose a judge allows you to serve part or all of your sentence through home confinement. In that case, the time you do at home counts as jail time under Penal Code 2900.5(f) PC. The criminal courts often seek ways to ease jail overcrowding while controlling illegal activity. Some alternative sentencing options for jail include electronic monitoring or home confinement.
While electronic monitoring programs exist, not all defendants are eligible for house arrest as an alternative to jail time. There are rules to determine eligibility for home confinement. First, the judge will impose conditions requiring you to remain inside your home for specific portions of the day.
This is typically regulated by an electronic monitoring device restricting your freedom to a specific location. Electronic monitoring is part of a "house arrest" program, which involves wearing an ankle bracelet to verify your location. Other electronically monitored programs are used as a condition of probation or parole.
Electronic monitoring utilizes Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with satellite tracking to monitor movements and is primarily used to verify compliance with the terms and conditions of probation. The Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM device) is another form of electronic monitoring primarily used for cases of driving under the influence.
Who Qualifies for House Arrest?
Your defense attorney usually requests house arrest. They must convince the judge that you meet the eligibility requirements and are a good candidate. You might be considered for house arrest under the following conditions:
- You are a low-risk and nonviolent offender.
- Your sentence was county jail time, not state prison.
- You live in the county where the crime occurred.
- You can easily be contacted by phone.
- You pay for the home confinement program.
- You agree to the terms of home confinement.
If you were sentenced to county jail time rather than state prison, you are much more likely to be approved for home detention. Understanding the difference between these two types of sentences is crucial. State prison sentences are typically longer and are for more serious crimes, while county jail time is usually for less severe offenses. Violent offenders or those with multiple crimes will be denied house arrest.
If you are mentally or physically impaired, you might be eligible for house arrest if your condition would make it unreasonably difficult to serve your sentence in jail. Sometimes, the judge might place you on house arrest as part of a parole agreement to release you from prison.
If you believe you meet the eligibility criteria for house arrest but your request is denied, you have the right to appeal this decision. Your attorney can guide you through this process and help you present a strong case for why you should be allowed to serve your sentence at home.
There are differences between house arrest and jail. While most of these differences make house arrest more favorable to you, there are some negatives.
One of them is the lack of good time credit in many jurisdictions. In jail, you may be released before your entire sentence is served by accumulating enough good time credits. On house arrest, you cannot get an early release date. You have to spend the full amount of time in home incarceration.
What are the Common Rules?
Individuals placed on house arrest must adhere to a set of rules and conditions, some of which may be tailored to their specific circumstances. Understanding these rules and conditions can help you prepare for and navigate your home confinement more effectively.
- Electronic Monitoring: Most individuals on house arrest are required to wear an electronic monitoring device, such as an ankle bracelet. This device tracks their location and ensures they remain within approved boundaries.
- No Leaving the House Without Approval: The most obvious rule of house arrest is that you must stay on the premises, but you can leave with prior approval. Some common activities that you may be allowed to attend under house arrest are religious services, appointments for medical care with your doctor, counseling sessions with your therapist, work, and school. Unauthorized travel is strictly prohibited.
- Adherence to Curfews: Courts often impose curfews, dictating the hours during which individuals must be inside their homes. These curfews are closely monitored through electronic tracking.
- Abstain from Drugs or Alcohol: Home confinement rules also require you to abstain from drugs and alcohol. This is especially common if the home detention stems from a drug possession offense or a case of driving under the influence (DUI). In some cases, you will have to wear a drug or alcohol detector, in addition to your ankle bracelet. These typically come in the form of an adhesive patch worn on the skin or as a secure, continuous remote alcohol monitoring (SCRAM) device. Tampering with them would violate the terms of house arrest.
- Testing Requirements: Participants may be required to undergo regular drug or alcohol testing to ensure they remain sober.
- Activity Logs: Offenders might be required to maintain detailed logs of their daily activities or report directly to their supervising officer at regular intervals.
- Regular Visits by a Probation Officer: The rules of house arrest almost always include visits by a probation officer. These visits are used to ensure that the other rules of house arrest are being followed. Probation officers are also entitled to unannounced visits. While under home detention, you may also have to attend meetings at the probation office. Because these meetings would be arranged well beforehand, you would be allowed to leave your house to attend.
- Random Check-ins by Parole Officers: In addition to regular check-ins and activity logs, parole officers may also conduct random visits or phone calls to ensure compliance with the terms of house arrest.
- Prohibition of Criminal Behavior: Committing additional crimes or associating with known criminals is strictly forbidden, as house arrest is often considered part of probation or parole.
What are the Common Violations?
Home confinement is a type of probation, meaning that violating a term of home detention constitutes a probation violation. Common probation violations are:
- Having a "dirty" drug or alcohol test result.
- Leaving your home without prior permission.
- Missing mandatory programming.
- Committing a new crime.
- Losing your employment.
- Tampering with or removing the electronic monitoring equipment.
When probation officers or law enforcement suspect you violated your house arrest, they can arrest you. Unless you can bail out, you will be held in custody until your probation violation hearing.
What Happens for Rules Violations?
Violating house arrest rules is treated similarly to a probation violation in California. If you're serving a term of house arrest and you violate any terms of your confinement, the supervising agency or probation officer will notify the court.
You'll then typically be required to attend a court hearing. If the court concludes that you did violate the rules, you may face one or more of the following consequences:
- Warning: If the violation is deemed minor, the judge may simply warn you against future violations and leave the existing terms in place.
- Reinstate: The judge has the discretion to reinstate the rules of home confinement without changing them.
- Tightened Restrictions: The court may impose stricter conditions on your house arrest. For instance, privileges such as work-related leave or medical visits may be further restricted.
- Additional Fines or Penalties: The court may impose fines as a punitive measure, or it may require you to attend counseling or fulfill community service.
- Revocation of House Arrest: If the violation is deemed serious or willful, the court may revoke the house arrest entirely. This often means you will be remanded to jail or prison to serve the remainder of your sentence.
The severity of the violation plays a pivotal role, along with any prior violations. Thus, a criminal defense lawyer can be crucial at this stage in the process. If you were on parole, then the violation will likely result in the revocation of your parole. You will be sent back to prison.
Willful Violations
One other thing to mention: if you willfully and intentionally break house arrest, for example, by deliberately removing your electronic monitoring device or leaving your residence without authorization in an effort to flee, the situation may escalate to a higher level than a parole violation.
Think of house arrest as serving your jail sentence at home. If you willfully leave, the courts may view that with the same scrutiny as if you had broken out of jail or prison.
In such cases, prosecutors have been known to charge house arrest violators with felony escape (Penal Code 4532 PC), an additional serious criminal charge that can result in additional prison time upon conviction.
What to Do If You Violate House Arrest
Penal Code 1203.016, the house arrest law, allows certain defendants to serve part or all of a criminal sentence at home rather than in jail.
Suppose you are serving a sentence or fulfilling a diversionary program via home confinement, and you make a mistake that violates the terms of your agreement. In that case, hiring a skilled California criminal defense attorney is your best hope of minimizing the damage.
A good attorney will evaluate the circumstances of your house arrest violation, identify mitigating elements, and advocate for leniency during your violation hearing to help you continue serving your sentence at home rather than behind bars.
The consequences of violating house arrest rules in California include a warning, reinstatement, tighter restrictions, or revocation for serious violations. For more information, contact our criminal defense law firm, Eisner Gorin LLP, located in Los Angeles.
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