A conviction for driving under the influence, or DUI, in Omaha carries with it serious judicial penalties. Often, a term of imprisonment is among those penalties. If you are gainfully employed, enrolled in school, or have small children at home for whom you care for on a daily basis, a term of imprisonment can cause serious hardship to you and/or your family. If you are concerned about being sentenced to a term of imprisonment in the local or county jail for conviction of an Omaha DUI, talk to your Omaha DUI defense attorney about the possibility of house arrest.
Nebraska Revised Statute 47-401(3) allows for the possibility of serving a jail sentence on house arrest, stating:
“Any person sentenced to a city or county jail upon conviction for a misdemeanor, a felony, contempt, or nonpayment of any fine or forfeiture may be granted the privilege of serving all or part of the sentence under house arrest. For purposes of this subsection, house arrest means restricting an offender to a specific residence except for authorized periods of absence for employment or for medical, educational, or other reasons approved by the court. House arrest may be monitored by electronic surveillance devices or systems.”
Not everyone is eligible for house arrest. Even if you are potentially eligible you are not automatically guaranteed to receive house arrest unless a judge has directly ordered you to serve a sentence on house arrest. The Douglas County House Arrest Program, for example, requires an inmate to meet all of the following criteria to be considered for house arrest:
- Be a sentenced inmate with no holds or bonds
- Have a residence in Douglas County or the near surrounding area
- Either have a house phone or operative cellular phone as House Arrest has a limited number of cellular units
- Not be sentenced to any crime of violence, assault and battery, domestic violence, sexual offenses or charges of crimes against children
- Not exceed the point limit as determined by the point assessment scale
House arrest doesn’t mean you are free to come and go as you please. As a rule, you will have to abide by a curfew and only be allowed to leave your home for work, school, or other court approved reasons. If you are granted house arrest you may also be required to be placed on electronic monitoring. This will likely require you to wear an electronic device that tracks your movements. This way, law enforcement officials know where you are at all times to ensure that you are at home by your “curfew” time. You may also be required to report in to the jail and pay the costs associated with the program.
Because each situation is unique, and the terms of each house arrest order may vary, it is best to consult with your Omaha DUI defense attorney to find out if you are eligible for house arrest and, if so, what the terms of your program will likely be. For a free case evaluation, contact Petersen Law Office 24 hours a day at 402-513-2180.
Attorney Petersen was invited to join the National Advocacy for DUI Defense (NAFDD) organization in 2013. NAFDD vets thousands of lawyers and only chooses those who have achieved stellar results in DUI defense cases. Attorney Petersen was named one of the Top 50 defense attorneys in Nebraska out of more than 5,000.
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