DUBLIN, Calif. — An arraignment hearing Thursday in Judge Diane S. Meier’s courtroom at the East County Hall of Justice evolved into a broader discussion about probation supervision and the state’s use of electronic monitoring devices. The accused, who was on probation for an unrelated charge, allegedly failed to comply with probation requirements after claiming repeated unsuccessful attempts to charge the GPS monitoring device.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s website, electronic monitoring is used “to monitor offender compliance” with court orders and serves as an “alternative sanction to incarceration.” However, Deputy Public Defender Amy Cheng argued on behalf of her client that the device did not function properly.
Although the accused was compliant with all other terms of the agreement, law enforcement officers still came to his home after the “batteries died after three days.”…