What is Home Confinement?
Also known as house arrest, home confinement is an intermediate community corrections program designed to restrict the activities of offenders in the community. Home confinement restricts the freedom of offenders by requiring them to remain at home during specified timeframes, such as at all times, all times except when in
school or working, or at night—that is curfews.
The offender's activities are closely monitored to ensure that they are complying with the conditions set by the court. The level of monitoring by supervisors varies from case to case, but contacts are typically more frequent than traditional probation.
What are the 3 Levels of Home Confinement?
The three levels of home confinement include:
- Curfew - Home confinement usually includes an evening curfew. This limits when inmates can engage in activities off the property. However, the timing of the curfew can be flexible, especially if the offender has after-hour hours, like if they are required to work late.
- Home Detention - Defined under 18 USCS Appx § 5F1.2 as a program of confinement and supervision that restricts the offender to their place of residence continuously, except for authorized absences, enforced by appropriate means of surveillance by the probation office. When home detention is imposed, the defendant is required to be in their residence at all times except for approved absences including employment, community service, religious services, medical care, and educational or training programs.
- Home Incarceration - The most severe form of house confinement, home incarceration refers to cases in which the defendant is required to remain in the home at all times, with rare exceptions such as medical treatment or court-ordered correctional therapy such as drug-abuse counseling.
Related Article: Early Termination of Probation
What is Electronic Monitoring?
Electronic monitoring is a type of digital incarceration, often in the form of a wrist or ankle bracelet which can monitor a subject’s location. Monitors are typically used as a condition of pretrial release or post-conviction supervision. They are sometimes used as a mechanism for reducing jail and prison populations.
What is Compassionate Release?
Compassionate release is a process by which inmates become eligible for immediate early release on grounds of "particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing." Prisoners qualify for compassionate release if they are at least 65 years old,
are experiencing a serious deterioration in physical or mental health due to age, and have served at least 10 years or 75% of the sentence, whichever is less.
Related Articles:
See all related personal injury and accident lawsuits our lawyers have taken on.
Get a Free Lawsuit Evaluation With Our Lawyers
The Litigation Group at Schmidt & Clark, LLP law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new legal challenges in all 50 states.
