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Abstract: 

This article examines a variety of recent appellate decisions in both federal and state courts on the full range of concerns and issues that arise in the use of electronic monitoring for probation and parole, and pretrial supervision, including bail. Legislation is seldom the last word in the law however: many statutes are drawn in such a way as to invite conflicting interpretations, and even when the statutory language is clear, its application can overreach, be flawed, or otherwise deficient; in such cases, appellate courts are called upon to clarify the law, ensure the fair and intended application of valid statutory law and strike down, where necessary, statutes that are unconstitutional. This survey includes cases on the constitutionality of EM with respect to various state constitutions and particularly in a Fourth Amendment (search and seizure) context; costs and fees; revocation; sentencing; and the use of EM with sex offenders, including lifetime monitoring. While it is impossible to include every appellate decision engaging EM, the cases here were selected for their relevance, applicability, and value in giving a sense of where courts are moving in an area that has grown to become a significant element in U.S. federal and state criminal sentencing and supervision.

Keywords: Bail; Fourth Amendment; Costs, Fees, Ability to Pay; COVID-19; House Arrest Eligibility; Escape; Suspicionless Searches; Lifetime Monitoring; Pretrial Release; Probation and Parole Revocation; Search and Seizure; Sex Offenders

Affiliations:  1: Journal of Offender Monitoring.