Secured home confinement, as a substitute for the incarceration of defendants who either pose a substantial flight risk or are a danger to the community, is often a very attractive option for white-collar criminal defendants. The conditions of any particular release package may vary, but secured home confinement almost universally involves electronic monitoring and private armed guards present in the defendant’s residence, limits on phone calls, limits on computer use and visits, and a substantial bond. Since many people accused in federal court of large scale financial fraud (1) have ready access to substantial fortunes, (2) are international travellers, with ties outside of the country, and (3) are typically facing decades long sentence recommendations under the federal guidelines, the government can plausibly argue that even a multi-million dollar secured bond is insufficient to ensure that the defendant will appear for trial. Indeed, there can be little doubt that some extremely wealthy defendants are more than willing to forfeit millions of dollars in exchange for avoiding the prospect of 20 years (or more) in federal prison.1

But secured home confinement as an alternative to detention has had a rocky history within the Second Circuit, and, after a brief recent period of expanded utilization, recent decisions in the circuit may signal a constriction of the ability of white-collar defendants to insist on “home-jailing.”

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