Section 12-14-91 Admittance into Program; Completion of Program; Eligibility; Liability Under Program.
People charged in municipal court may apply for pretrial diversion, the judge decides admission after the prosecutor’s recommendation, and admitted participants must plead guilty while the case is held and sentence is deferred until completion or termination.
(a) A person charged with a criminal offense under the jurisdiction of the municipal court in a municipality that has established a pretrial diversion program may apply to the court for admittance to the program. (b) Upon receipt of the application and recommendation of the municipal prosecutor, the judge shall determine whether to grant the individual admittance to the program. (c) Upon admittance to the program, the individual shall be required to enter a plea of guilty at which time the case shall be placed in an administrative docket until such time as the offender has completed all requirements of the pretrial diversion program. Imposition of any sentence shall be deferred until such time as the offender completes the pretrial diversion program or is terminated from the program. (d) In the event the offender does not satisfactorily complete the program and all terms thereof, the court shall impose an appropriate sentence in the same manner as with any guilty plea. (e) Upon successful completion of the program and all terms thereof, the court shall dismiss the case pursuant to the rules established by the municipality. (f) A holder of a commercial driver’s license, an operator of a commercial motor vehicle, or a commercial driver learner permit holder who is charged with a violation of a traffic law in this state shall not be eligible for a pretrial diversion program pursuant to this article. (g) Absent wantonness, gross negligence, or intentional misconduct, the municipality, or its officers or employees, shall have no liability, criminal or civil, for the conduct of any offender while participating in a pretrial diversion program established under this article or of any service provider or its agents that are contracted to or who have agreed to provide services to the pretrial diversion program. (h) The municipality, or its officers or employees, shall have no liability, criminal or civil, for any injury or harm to the offender while the offender is a participant in any pretrial diversion program administered pursuant to this article The municipal prosecutor may require written agreed upon waivers of liability as a prerequisite for admittance into the pretrial diversion program.