California Criminal Defense Blog

When Actress Lindsay Lohan reportedly stole a necklace from a Venice jeweler, she violated the terms of her DUI probation by failing to obey all laws. As a result, she was sentenced to serve 120 days in jail. Yet despite this sentence, she would probably only spend about 14 of those days in jail due to “good behavior” credits and overcrowding. But instead of going to jail, Lohan has applied to be a part of the home electronic monitoring program, otherwise known as house arrest.

If she qualifies for house arrest, Lohan will be allowed to serve her time at home in lieu of county jail. She will most likely be fitted with a GPS tracking device that she will wear on her ankle. Whether or not she will actually have to remain in her home will depend on what type of restrictions the judge imposes. Many people who are placed on house arrest…otherwise known as home detention or electronic monitoring…are allowed to leave their homes, provided they abide by a curfew and only travel to locations that have been preapproved.

Lohan must surrender to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on June 17 at which time she will be taken into custody or permitted to complete her sentence on house arrest.

Peter Pocklington, the former owner of the Edmonton Oilers…perhaps most notorious for trading the then Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings back in 1988…was recently convicted of perjury charges. The U.S. federal judge who sentenced Pocklington for lying on his 2008 bankruptcy application ordered the defendant to serve six months under California house arrest instead of the 12-16 month jail sentence he would have otherwise faced.

In California, house arrest...interchangeably referred to as home detention, home confinement, or electronic monitoring…is a sentencing option that may be imposed in lieu of a jail or prison sentence. House arrest is not automatically offered by sentencing judges. It is a sentence that must be requested based on appropriate circumstances.

In Pocklington’s case, the judge agreed to impose house arrest based on the fact that this was Pocklington’s first offense and that he has an “extraordinary history of philanthropy.”

This is one of the reasons why it is critical to have a California defense attorney who knows the most convincing arguments to persuade a judge that house arrest is a better option than incarceration. This is a perfect case in point – six months home detention instead of up to 16 months in jail.