Q: I am in Rockville MD. I am on "Pre-Trial", Electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. I have nothing to show I flight risk.
I have been on an Ankle Monitor since this whole thing started. On Tuesday of next week, it will be 90 days. The Maximum sentence for my charge is 90 Days. The Maryland Governor has lifted all the COVID restrictions. I still don't have a Court date. I'm filling a motion with the District Court to have the Ankle monitor removed. When I was given a no bond release, my boss paid for me to stay in a hotel for over a month. I work, pay mortgage, and have children. There is no justification or reasonable reason for me to be considered any type of threat or flight risk. In a case related to this in the Circuit court the Judge told me and recognized I couldn't comment or testify in that case because it could have been used against me in the District court case. The Public Defender will not even respond to my requests for help because a court date has not been set. I see Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Excessive Punishment. Even double Jeopardy. Any help would be wonderful.
A: If you have money to pay a lawyer, a motion can be filed to modify the terms of bond. You have not been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution, nor double jeopardy. An argument can be made that the ankle monitor, if your freedom of free movement has been restricted, is the equivalent of serving a jail term, such that you have already served the maximum penalty og 90 days (if, in fact, that’s the maximum penalty for the offense for which you are on pretrial release). Pretrial supervision with an ankle monitor is extremely rare for a minor offense that carries a maximum of 90 days. There’s something more to your story that you have not shared, I suspect.
Douglas Phillips agrees with this answer
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