The Houston, Harris County DWI DIVERT Changes Again!
I understand as a Houston DWI attorney that the Houston DWI DIVERT program is a novel concept for Harris County,Texas. I further recognize that with a new program tweaks will be made to make improvements. However, it seems that the Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) is continually making changes to this program. This causes confusion to all the parties involved. Whether you are misdemeanor judge, a misdemeanor prosecutor, a DWI attorney, or an accused changing the rules weekly leaves everyone uncertain as to how to proceed.
I have been patient with the program up until now. This week the HCDAO decided that a defendant needs to decide if they want to be considered for the DIVERT program by their second court setting. This is patently unfair and lends itself to the biggest complaint against the program, that is coercive.
My non-DWI clients do not need to decide anything within two settings, but somehow my DWI clients must make a life changing decision is less than a month now. That is unacceptable! Anyone that is a candidate for the DIVERT is someone that has never had contact with the police or the criminal justice system before their DWI arrest. They are afraid, confused, and intimidated by the system. This is not the best time for them to make such an important decision. Moreover, in a lot of instances a DWI attorney can not properly analyze a case after one setting. There are too many variables involved before they can properly advise their client.
This change will undoubtedly lead to another deluge of initial cases being screened in order to meet the two setting decision deadline since, being evaluated does not require the defendant from accepting the conditions offered. Ultimately, this will lead to more people rejecting the DIVERT program because no one enjoys being bullied into doing something. Perhaps, this is what the HCDAO is trying to accomplish. If it is they may find an increase in attorneys setting cases for trial.
