Skip to main content
Pretrial Services
Pretrial Services

Defendant responsibilities

  • You are required to report for a scheduled intake interview within a week of your release in order to review the specific conditions of your release. The officer assigned to your case will monitor your compliance with the court-ordered conditions for the duration of your case.
  • It is important that you maintain contact with your officer as instructed, comply with all of your court-ordered conditions, and appear at all of your court dates. Failure to do so may result in the revocation of your release and either you being remanded back into custody or a warrant being issued for your arrest.
  • ​It is recommended that you arrive early for your court appearance and report to your assigned courtroom. If you do not know the courtroom or department number, check in with the clerk's office for confirmation.
  • You are court-ordered to comply with your release conditions while your case is pending. The conditions remain in effect until your criminal charges are resolved as follows: dismissed, discharged, sentenced or acquitted. In some cases, Supervised O.R. may be terminated by further order of the Court.

Electronic Monitoring Program

Pretrial Services can provide a higher level of supervision for individuals with Electronic Monitoring Program (EMP) as a condition of release as ordered by the court. Our program has several options:

GPS – Home detention

Home detention is an alternative to confinement in the County Jail. Individuals placed on this program must remain confined to their residence unless granted specific exclusions by the court. They are required to wear an ankle bracelet and are monitored 24-hours a day. 

GPS only

Individuals ordered to GPS are able to go out into the community and can be tracked via GPS in lieu of home confinement. Pretrial Services also has the ability to implement inclusion and/or exclusion zones if necessary. They are required to wear an ankle bracelet and are monitored 24-hours a day. 

Continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM)

CAM is a transdermal, automated, and noninvasive alcohol testing device which monitors an individual's alcohol level. Individuals are required to wear an ankle bracelet and are monitored 24-hours a day.

Frequently asked questions

Only a judge can:

  • Change the conditions of your release; however, your attorney may ask the court to change the conditions.
  • Change the terms of restraining orders. Note that a victim may also have a civil restraining order; in this case, you would need to go to the civil court to get it changed.

Only a judge can give you permission to leave California. Your attorney may ask the court to give you permission to leave California.

The District Attorney is the one that decides to drop the charges, not the victim. The victim may contact the District Attorney at (408) 299-7400 for further information.