Articles Posted in Diversionary Programs

A criminal case can end in a variety of ways including a verdict at trial, a plea, a dismissal, or admission to a diversionary program. Two diversionary programs that may be available to New Jersey criminal defendants are Drug Court and Pre-Trial Intervention, or PTI. This post focuses on some of the basics of PTI.

Generally speaking, defendants seeking admission to PTI must satisfy two criteria. First, the defendant’s current case must be their first and only encounter with the criminal justice system. Further, the charge can be no greater than third degree.

Defendants who do not satisfy these criteria may still be able to gain admission to the program if their attorney submits a statement of compelling reasons in support of their application. This statement acknowledges that the defendant does not meet the basic criteria for admission, but should be admitted to the program anyway because of the facts and circumstances surrounding their case and personal situation.

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It has been long known that the United States incarcerates more individuals than any other nation on the planet.  Our combined federal, state and local jail population is staggering.  Over the last several decades, however, there has been an ongoing push to develop “alternatives-to-incarceration” or “ATI” programs.  These programs, which include drug courts and mental health courts, are designed to deal with relatively low-level, non-violent offenders who have specific problems and issues that led them to commit crimes.  The idea is to remove them from the mainstream criminal justice system and place them in a diversionary program designed to address their unique needs, thereby reducing the likelihood of recidivism.  As a result, these programs help reduce the overall prison population, thereby preserving prison resources for use in connection with more violent criminal offenders.  ATI programs exist on both the federal and state levels.

It is also well known that the current administration in Washington has adopted a “get-tough-on-crime” approach to criminal justice including, among other things, the promulgation of stricter sentencing guidelines in drug cases.  The  United States Sentencing Commission observed in a recent report that this may effectively reduce the number of defendants who can participate in the federal ATI programs.

There are many state-level ATI programs.  For example, the first drug court was created in Florida in 1989.  There are currently more than 4,000 state-level drug courts nationwide.  It is estimated that approximately 55,000 adult criminal defendants participate in state drug court programs each year. Continue reading ›

This blog and the accompanying firm website have numerous entries concerning drug court and other diversionary programs.  One of the many stated purposes of these programs is to make the criminal justice system more efficient and effective.  Other federal and state efforts and initiatives currently being implemented share the same goal.  These programs and efforts all focus attention on a growing recognition of the need to increase the system’s overall efficiency, and to use criminal justice resources as effectively as possible.  Particularly in these times of tight budgets and cost-cutting, all of these issues warrant discussion.

Briefly, a diversionary program diverts a criminal case away from the mainstream criminal justice system to a program that is more suited to resolving the issues that gave rise to the case.  Currently, in New Jersey, the two most popular diversionary programs are Pre-Trial Intervention and Drug Court.  Pre-Trial Intervention (frequently referred to as “PTI”) is a special form of probation that has been around for many years.  The program is open to defendants with no prior criminal record and relatively low-level charges (typically no higher than third degree indictable offenses).  The defendant must be cleared for entry into PTI by a section of the Clerk’s Office known as Criminal Case Management, and by the prosecutor’s office of the county where the case is pending.  A defendant who successfully completes PTI probation will not have a record for an indictable (felony) conviction.  The disposition of that case will show as “PTI” on their criminal record.  This is very significant, since the successful defendant will not have a felony record and all of the disabilities and problems that accompany it.  In the past, defendants were accepted into PTI without having to plead guilty to any particular offense.  In recent years, more prosecutor’s offices have required the defendant to plead guilty to an offense as a prerequisite to acceptance.  The plea is then held in abeyance and, if the defendant completes the program successfully, is vacated.  Defendants who fail to complete PTI successfully are simply sentenced on their plea.

Drug Court, which is a more recent development, is another popular diversionary program.  It is designed for defendants whose criminal conduct is motivated by substance abuse problems.  For example, a defendant may be charged with a series of burglaries, and it is ultimately discovered that they committed the offenses so that they could obtain items to sell in order to have money to purchase narcotics.  Non-violent defendants with drug problems may be eligible for admission into Drug Court.  The defendant has to be evaluated by a trained substance abuse counselor who, in turn, prepares a report for the court and counsel.  That report describes the defendant’s drug problem, and makes treatment recommendations.  Defendants deemed acceptable by the court are admitted into the program.  Instead of receiving a conventional sentence on their criminal charges, they are sentenced to a term of Drug Court probation.  The term is typically five years, but they can be discharged earlier if they complete all of the steps of the program in a shorter period of time.  As with PTI, defendants who are admitted into Drug Court can be required to enter a guilty plea on the underlying criminal charges, and can be sentenced on that plea if they violate the terms and conditions of their Drug Court supervision.  Every New Jersey county has a Drug Court judge who is trained to handle these cases and, during their tenure as Drug Court judge, develops considerable experience with defendants with substance abuse issues. Continue reading ›

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