Understanding the Orange County Pretrial Diversion Program
Orange County offers a pretrial diversion program for selected misdemeanor DUI offenders. It is offered by the Office of the State Attorney and supervised by Orange County Community Corrections. Those who successfully complete the DUI Pretrial Diversion program will have their DUI charges dismissed by the Office of the State Attorney. This is a great way for Orlando residents to avoid criminal prosecution and a conviction for DUI.
Two tiers for DUI diversion programs in Orange County
Orange County has two tiers for DUI diversion. Tier One involves cases with a breath test result of 0.15 or lower. Tier Two involves cases with a breath result of between 0.15 and 0.22. Anyone accused of having a BAC above 0.22 is ineligible for pretrial diversion. Those accused of having a BAC between 0.15 and 0.22 will face a longer pretrial diversion program with more requirements. However, if the defendant successfully completes either diversion program, they can have the DUI charges against them dismissed. Once dismissed, the defendant can have their record expunged so that no one knows of the arrest.
Eligibility for Orange County’s pretrial diversion program
Not every case is eligible for DUI diversion. There are a number of factors that must be present for a defendant to be eligible. Below, we’ve listed a series of “aggravating factors” that would make a defendant ineligible for DUI diversion. These include:
- The presence of property damage, even to your own vehicle
- An accident causing injury, even to a passenger
- A breath test result of 0.22 or above
- The presence of a minor in the vehicle
- If the DUI involves a defendant who ran a red light
- If the DUI involves a defendant who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street
In addition to the aforementioned factors, if the following factors are present, it will also cause your case to be ineligible for pretrial diversion. These include:
- A previous DUI or a “wet reckless”
- Multiple misdemeanor convictions
- Any felony conviction
- Prior participation in a pretrial diversion program
- The presence of multiple incidents with law enforcement that did not lead to a conviction
If none of the aforementioned factors apply to your case, you may be eligible for the DUI diversion program.
The requirements for pretrial diversion
The DUI diversion program lasts 12 months for Tier One and 15 months for Tier Two. Participants are required to complete all of the following:
- DUI school plus DUI counseling
- The two-hour victim awareness program
- Randomized drug testing
- 50 hours of community service
- The cost of investigation, prosecution, and supervision
- A fine of $500 (for Tier One) and $1,000 (for Tier Two)
- Immobilization of your vehicle (Tier One) or installation of an interlock ignition device (Tier Two)
Talk to an Orlando DUI Attorney Today
FL DUI Group handles the cases of those who have been arrested and charged with DUI in Orange County. Call our Florida DUI defense lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps right away.
