Mental Health Diversion Eligibility in California
In California, you may be able to avoid a criminal conviction if you go through the process of mental health pretrial diversion. A pretrial diversion is a process that some defendants can go through, and if successful, they can avoid custody time, focusing on education and rehabilitation rather than punishment.
For a defendant to be eligible for mental health diversion, two criteria must both be met.
- The defendant must be diagnosed with a mental health disorder. This diagnosis must come from a doctor, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional. Self-diagnoses are not accepted by the court. Some, but not all, qualifying conditions are:
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder.
The other criteria to be accepted for mental health diversion is:
- The mental health disorder must play a significant part in motivating or causing the crime. The court’s like to say that there must be a “nexus” between the underlying disorder and the conduct which gave rise to the criminal case. And, If the defendant has a diagnosis, this point is likely to be met. The burden of proof then shifts to the prosecution to prove that the disorder is not relevant to the case.
However, there are exceptions which could make someone ineligible for the program. Some violent crimes are not eligible for pretrial diversion. These include:
- Murder
- Voluntary manslaughter
- Rape
- Lewd or lascivious act on a child under 14 years of age
- Assault with the intention to commit rape
- Commission of rape or sexual penetration in concert with another person
- Continuous sexual abuse of a child
- Any crime that would make a defendant have to register as a sex offender, except for indecent exposure.
Pedophilia and antisocial personality disorder are also ineligible for mental health diversion.
If you are facing criminal charges and/or have questions about mental health diversion contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey Vallens: (818) 783-5700 or email us at: jv@4criminaldefense.com
Please visit our sites: www.4criminaldefense.com and www.westlakecriminaldefense.com