Home Confinement

In many instances a client can get out of serving actual time in jail by serving his time on home confinement. Attorney William W. Bruzzo has had many, many clients do their time on home confinement and NEVER SET FOOT IN JAIL. It is occasionally referred to as “Alternative Sentencing.”

Once a client is sentenced by the court the client is given a jail report date 4-6 weeks later; during that time the client applies for home confinement. In Orange County Home confinement may be given to persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes (and on occasions felonies) UNLESS they are convicted of a violent crime or have a conviction for a violent crime in the past. For example a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence, current or past, would exclude most people from getting home confinement. Judges do not order home confinement (except in rare instances), they simply permit the client to postpone jail time which gives the client time to apply. It is the Probation Department that makes the decision about whether or not to give a client home confinement. While this sounds like a risky proposition in fact it is not, since the county has an enormous incentive to give out home confinement because it saves money because the cost of housing inmates is enormous. There is also a fee the client must pay for home confinement; the fee depends on the income of the client.

Home confinement involves the placing of an electronic bracelet around the ankle of a person sentenced to jail. Instead of going to jail the client can stay at home and go to work as long as he keeps the bracelet on at all times! In addition, probation hooks up a device to the telephone at the client’s home; one telephone line must be dedicated to the device at all times. The probation department can provide you with further details on what having the device entails.

In Orange County not all courts permit home confinement or they permit it in limited circumstances. However, West Justice Center (Westminster), Central Justice Center (Santa Ana) and North Justice Center (Fullerton) generally permit it; South Justice Center (Laguna Niguel) and Harbor Justice Center (Newport Beach) generally require the permission of the Judge although there can be exceptions to this. Attorney William W. Bruzzo has been very successful in finding alternatives to jail for clients who are sentenced to jail. You can contact Mr. Bruzzo at (714) 547-4636.