As one of the few Spanish speaking DWI lawyers in Houston I represent a fair amount of Spanish speaking people that are charged with the crime of driving while intoxicated. While they may not speak English they are still lawfully residing in the United States. Some are citizens with others being resident aliens, or in the United States under some sort of Visa. Some are here with proper documentation while others are in the process of getting their status sorted out.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) was initially clear about what type of people would be accepted into their DIVERT program, or so I thought. They were only accepting people that were in this country lawfully. One would think that this is straightforward enough, but actually like most other things with the DIVERT program this is ambiguous Now I have been told, if a person is in the process of obtaining his residency and not yet a citizen or permanent resident they will not qualify for the DIVERT program. While the Federal government allows them to stay in this country indefinitely the HCDAO does not allow them to enter the DIVERT program. This is difficult for my clients to comprehend when they are doing everything required of them by the Federal law. Is the HCDAO being too selective of people when it comes to their DIVERT program or just too exclusive since they do not have an issue allowing them to go on probation for the same DWI charge. Regardless, this leaves my clients in DIVERT limbo.
