Diversion Programs

Diversion programs offer first-time offenders an opportunity to have their case dismissed after completing a relatively simple class or program successfully. Recently even first-time DUI offenders have enjoyed the benefits of such intervention opportunities in most counties throughout the United States. Opponents to DUI diversion programs allege that a County’s elected state attorney will only resort to offering dismissals for dangerous DUI offenders when they are unable to competently prosecute the number of cases resulting from their jurisdiction’s police force.

the days where an attorney could expect that nine out of every 10 DUIs would be dismissed in Dade County are distant memory. Their traffic criminal justice system was entirely ineffective before diversion programs were offered to first-time offenders.  Palm Beach County has also begun diversion programs although there has been no evidence in decades that West Palm Beach prosecutors were unable to handle the misdemeanor case docket.

Recently an even more surprising is the decision to allow marijuana users to be ticketed and fined rather than criminally prosecuted in South Florida. Broward is the exception and that the elected assistant state attorney is unlikely to ever offer breaks for such a dangerous and serious offense according to his spokesperson years ago. I think that local criminal defense attorneys understand and respect him for that. He’s never lost control or had the number of this jurisdictions misdemeanor or felony case files out run his prosecutors.