Probationer must wear charm bracelet to deter drug and alcohol use, federal judge says
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A federal judge in Boise, Idaho, has ordered a drug defendant to wear a charm bracelet with pictures of her children.
U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge told Jennifer Fanopoulos she had to wear the bracelet as a condition of probation. The intent was to deter Fanopoulos “from reaching for drugs or alcohol,” according to a sentencing document. The Associated Press and KTVB have coverage of the sentence, imposed earlier this month.
Fanopoulos had pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining a controlled substance through fraud. Her September 2018 plea agreement alleged that, while working as a registered nurse at a Boise hospital, she obtained fentanyl through a prescription system. She accessed the system to obtain controlled substances at least 28 times, the agreement said.
Lodge sentenced Fanopoulos to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service. She also will have to participate in a program of testing and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
The Associated Press spoke with Shaakirrah Sanders, a law professor at the University of Idaho, about the unusual sentence. She said the charm bracelet requirement is the second-strangest sentencing term she has seen in Idaho. The strangest was a requirement that a rape defendant abstain from sex before marriage.
Sanders said it would be helpful to know why Lodge thought that the bracelet requirement would be helpful. The requirement ideally would be related to the crime itself and be likely to help both the defendant and society, she said. She can’t get that information, however, because presentence reports are sealed in Idaho.
“I’m also curious as to whether this judge has made these types of terms of probation for other defendants,” Sanders said. “Is this a one-time occurrence? Is this used for every parent that struggles with addiction or only for defendants who are mothers who find themselves in court?”
