In the People v. Ramos case, what did the courts decide about house arrest for pretrial detainees?

In the People v. Ramos case, the courts determined that house arrest for pretrial detainees cannot be credited as time served toward a conviction. This decision is rooted in the understanding that pretrial detention is fundamentally different from serving a sentence. Pretrial detainees have not been convicted of a crime; hence, any time spent under house arrest does not equate to a punitive sentence. The ruling emphasized the distinction between pretrial measures, which are meant to ensure a defendant's appearance in court and community safety, and the actual time served for a conviction which is related to punitive measures after a legal determination of guilt.

This clarification is significant as it underscores the legal principle that individuals awaiting trial maintain their presumption of innocence and the nature of pretrial conditions does not imbue them with the status of serving a sentence.