Chapter 2 establishes the theoretical and conceptual grounds on which the study lies, arguing that we can usefully conceive of spatial conditions of release through the lens of critical legal geography, emphasizing the work of law in producing powerful spatiotemporal arrangements and representations that act upon the social world. Spatial conditions of release are as a form of legal territorialisation, or a strategic attempt at structuring socio-legal relations through the configuring of space and time. By territorializing a set of legal commands, legal actors aim to communicate, classify, enforce, and legitimize. Focusing on the practical work of spatial conditions of release directs us to the work they do in organizing socio-legal relations. In particular, the authors note the complex and simultaneous relational work of “cutting” and “joining” they entail.

Chapter 7 focuses on the lived impact of red zones and other bail and sentencing orders on marginalized people’s lives and rights. The spatial and temporal dimensions of these orders are particularly consequential. By isolating spatially and temporally the individuals subject to such orders, they put their safety, security, and lives at risk, impede successful reintegration, and create further social and economic barriers and constraints for individuals who are already socially and economically marginalized. Such orders also increase the risks of violent encounters with the police as well as life-threatening experiences of incarceration, connecting marginalized people with networks of oppression. Although these consequences directly infringe on some of their fundamental rights, such arguments rarely reach the courtroom.