If you are facing criminal charges, a criminal lawyer can build a case to defend your innocence. Part of building a defense is creating enough reasonable doubt that the jury will not convict you. If the evidence clearly points to a conviction then a secondary aspect of an attorney's job is to use mitigating factors in an effort to reduce your sentence. In California, it may be possible to qualify for Supervised Electronic Confinement, more commonly known as house arrest.
In this scenario, you are still convicted of a crime but instead of going to jail you can serve out your sentence at your home and, in some circumstances, you may be able to continue working at your job outside of your home. Imagine your life confined in prison and surrounded by other inmates that you do not know, most of them committed for crimes far worse than yours, having to live with rules that you did not create and a schedule you are forced to follow. In this world, your family and friends can only see you at certain times, and when they do, you are wearing a uniform. Now, imagine spending that time waking up in your own bed, sitting on your own couch, and cooking in your own kitchen. Family and friends can visit you freely and instead of a jailhouse uniform, you are wearing your normal clothes. These two worlds are miles apart, and your attorney can help you to stay out of jail, even if you were convicted of a crime.
Only certain people qualify for Supervised Electronic Confinement. In order for this to be a possibility you need to be a low risk and nonviolent offender along with meeting these criteria:
- You have to be able to afford to pay for the home confinement program;
- You must have a working telephone at your home;
- You agree to the conditions of Supervised Electronic Confinement;
- The judge did not prohibit you from participating in the program;
- You were sentenced to serve time in a county jail.
If you are facing a medical condition or have mental health issues that would make going into custody an undue hardship, you may also qualify for the program even if some of the other criteria are not met. It is up to your criminal lawyer to make a case for why house arrest is the best option for you but that also satisfy the requirements of the court.
If you are granted house arrest, the rules that apply to you will be set by the judge. These rules are different on a case by case scenario. Some people, for example, are allowed to continue with their employment rather than being required to stay in the home.
You may be able to continue with basic activities like going to the grocery store, attending doctor’s visits and any mandatory rehabilitation programs. This means that even though you are technically on house arrest, you can still leave your home under the permitted conditions. This may be a far better way to serve your sentence so call a criminal lawyer today so that you may get the assistance you need.
