Houston, Harris County, Texas DWI DIVERT Update...
Now that the DIVERT program in Houston is about six months old attorneys are coming across several issues. Several Houston DWI attorneys have told me that their clients are not in compliance with the DIVERT contract which, according to the DIVERT contract these defendants are subject to jail time. These attorneys are hopeful that they will be able to keep their clients from going to jail. Will the Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) enforce the agreement? What will the judge do if they have a hearing on the matter? Is the agreement even enforceable? I am curious as to what the final result will be in the upcoming cases.
Mark Bennett provides another opinion in his blog as to why the HCDAO is changing the DIVERT program so capriciously. He concludes that the HCDAO doesn't know what they are doing with regard to the DIVERT program.
Also, Dane Johnson writes in his blog that the HCDAO is reconsidering the two week reset rule that was implemented last week. A rule that did not make any sense to anyone in the misdemeanor division in the first place and caught everyone else off guard.
