Reader’s Question:

I was told that I can enter into a pretrial diversion program for my DWI case here in Washington, DC since this is my first offense. What is this pretrial diversion program, what can it do for me and what if it’s already my second offense?

Landon

Washington, DC

The District of Columbia actually has a great deal for many first time DWI offenders. Let’s define first what pretrial diversion program is and let’s see what it can do for you. A pretrial diversion program is a tool utilized by the United States Attorney in deferring prosecution of persons who appear to have been involved in prosecutable offenses, in your case, a DWI in Washington, DC. The pretrial services office usually receives referrals, then collects and verifies information and prepares a report under an agreement with the US attorney for the District. The Chief Pretrial Services Officer is authorized to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement with the US attorney for the District.

So, in exchange for drunk driving classes, the prosecutor can agree to dismiss your charges. Furthermore, the DMV would usually not revoke licenses of those who complete this program. The pretrial diversion program would not be available for offenders with prior DWI convictions, those who refused breath or blood testing, those whose blood alcohol content was at over 0.12 percent and those who were in an accident.

Tags: DMV, driver’s license, drunk driving laws, DWI, DWI lawyer