Everett Municipal Court – Client avoids 3.1 years on EHM!!!

After revoking my client’s Deferred Prosecution when he got a new charge for an Ignition Interlock Violation, the prosecutor thought I was playing games when I handed her my client’s mental-health evaluation.  It was not a ploy but a valid diagnosis.  The prosecutor wanted jail converted to Electronic Home Monitoring (EHM) at a ratio of 1 to 15!!!  The court opted for a 1 to 6 conversion ratio.  With the large amount of jail time being converted, my client was ordered to have an EHM ankle bracelet and be confined to his home when not at work at a cost almost $500 per month, which came to $26,000 over 3.1 years.  After my legal brief explaining this was illegal and exceeded the maximum sentence for DUI pursuant to RCW 46.61.5055 (one year, jail and/or EHM, in any combination), I argued against strong opposition from the judge and prosecutor, but prevailed – the court allowed removal after one year.