Admittance into the pretrial diversion program is in the absolute discretion of the district attorney. However, an offender deemed by the district attorney to be a threat to the safety or well-being of the community shall not be eligible for the program. Further, an offender charged with the following offenses shall be ineligible for admittance:
(1) A Class A felony or capital offense.
(2) An offense which intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly resulted in death or serious physical injury to a person.
(3) An offense involving the use of a deadly weapon.
(4) Chemical endangerment of a child.
(5) An offense involving violence in which the victim was a child under 14 years of age, a law enforcement officer, a school officer, a correctional officer, active duty military personnel of the United States Armed Forces, or an elderly person over the age of 65.
(6) An offense involving violence in which the victim was an employee of any school system which lies within the geographic boundaries of the Thirty-ninth Judicial Circuit.
(7) Trafficking in controlled substances or marijuana.
(8) Driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, driving under the combined influence of alcohol and a controlled substance, or driving under the influence of any substance which impairs the mental or physical faculties wherein the offender has been previously charged with or convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, driving under the combined influence of alcohol and a controlled substance, or driving under the influence of any substance which impairs the mental or physical faculties, or where a chemical test was given to the offender and the results of the chemical test revealed a greater than .15 percentage by weight of alcohol in the blood.
(9) Bribery.
(10) Any offense wherein the offender is a public official and the charge is related to the offender’s capacity as a public official.
(11) Any offense wherein a holder of a commercial driver’s license, an operator of a commercial motor vehicle, or a commercial driver learner permit holder has been charged with a violation of a traffic law in this state pursuant to Section 32–6–49.23.
Last modified: May 3, 2021