PC 1000 Drug Treatment Diversion & Drug Court Options in Criminal Prosecutions. Criminal Defense Lawyers Explain Penal Code 1000.
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PC 1000 Drug Court Diversion, also called “Deferred Entry of Judgement (DEJ)” is a process whereby a criminal defendant who is charged with certain drug related criminal offenses may have his or her criminal charges dismissed after undergoing a drug treatment program designed to address the defendant’s drug addiction.
Penal Code 1000 (PC 1000) describes what criminal drug offenses qualify for drug court diversion, the process of drug treatment diversion, and some of the limitations of PC 1000 diversion.
The following is an overview of PC 1000 diversion and drug court qualification, procedures, benefits and limitations related to drug court diversion.
PC 1000 Law
A criminal defendant charged with any simple possession of a controlled substance, including criminal charges of HS 11350, 11357, 11364, 11365, 11368, 11375, 11377, 11550, VC 23222, or PC 647(f), may apply for drug court diversion (PC 1000 Abbrev.).
Per PC 1000, only non-violent, non-serious drug crimes, such as possession of a controlled substance for personal use will qualify for drug court and PC 1000 diversion (PC 1000 Abbrev.).
Other Limitations: Drug court diversion is only available to those defendant who have not been convicted of a drug related offense within five years of entering into a drug treatment diversion program, or any felony offense within five years of entering into a drug treatment diversion program and the drug related offense did not involve a crime of violence or threatened violence.
Procedure for PC 1000: If the district attorney finds that the criminal defendant is eligible for drug court diversion, the district attorney will notify the criminal defendant of his or her eligibility and the district attorney will file a declaration with the court, in writing, as to the criminal defendant’s eligibility for drug court diversion under PC 1000.
Controlled Substances Covered: Most controlled substances are covered under PC 1000, so long as those controlled substances are only used for personal use, as opposed to possession for sale of a controlled substance, or transportation of a controlled substance for sale, etc.
The controlled substances covered by PC 1000 include: cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, peyote, “GHB,” ketamine, methamphetamines, marijuana, PCP, LSD, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and more.
If the criminal defendant is found eligible for PC 1000 drug court diversion (drug treatment program), the court will set the matter for a pretrial diversion hearing where the defendant will be assessed for suitability for drug court diversion and the court will make the terms for PC 1000 drug court diversion known to the defendant.
If the criminal defendant agrees to enter PC 1000 drug treatment diversion (as opposed to moving forward with criminal prosecution), he or she will be ordered to complete “terms of PC 1000.”
The PC1000 terms will generally include AA or NA classes, court fines and fees, mandatory urine tests, an order to not commit new misdemeanor or felony crimes during drug court diversion treatment, and other court-ordered designed to treat the criminal defendant’s addiction to controlled substances (CS).
Note: The results of mandatory urine test related to PC 1000 drug treatment programs may not be used as evidence to prosecute the criminal defendant for new drug related offenses.
Length of PC 1000 Diversion
PC 1000 diversion is no less than twelve (12), and no more than eighteen (18) months from the date of entry of pretrial diversion.
Most PC 1000 drug court diversion cases will start as a twelve (12) program, but if the criminal defendant violates a term of diversion, then the defendant’s diversion program will be extended to eighteen (18) months.
Reinstatement to PC 1000: Sometimes, a criminal defendant who has entered a drug treatment program as part of a PC 1000 diversion plan violates the terms of his or her drug court diversion.
In these cases, the court may either reinstate the criminal defendant to the drug treatment program with, or without, new terms designed to address the criminal defendant’s violation of court orders, or, if the violation is severe enough, the court may drop the criminal defendant from the drug court diversion program and resume prosecution for the controlled substance criminal charge.
Note: A violation of drug court diversion that amounts to a new misdemeanor or felony may be prosecuted separately.
For example, if a person, who is on a pretrial diversion program, commits robbery, then the court may do both 1) drop the defendant from drug court diversion and resume prosecution for the controlled substance offense, and 2) the district attorney may file robbery charges against the criminal defendant.
Note: The double punishment in the above example does not violate the rule against Double Jeopardy.
Benefits of PC 1000 DEJ
If the criminal defendant complies with all the terms of his or her PC 1000 Drug Court Diversion Treatment Program, then his or her criminal charges will be dismissed. Thereafter, on application for private companies that do not require a professional license for employment, the defendant may assert that he or she has never been arrested or convicted for the criminal charge that was successfully diverted.
In some cases, an administrative licensing agency is prohibited from taking administrative action against a criminal defendant who entered and successfully completed a diversion program related to HS 11368 crimes (PC 1000(d) Abbrev.).
PC 1000 & Professional Lice ensure: Successful diversion pursuant to penal code 1000 does not allow the criminal defendant to misrepresent his or her criminal history on application for professional license (i.e., doctor, dentist, lawyer, therapist, teacher, nurse, etc.).
Also, conduct that supported a criminal charge may be used against a licensed professional even if the criminal court grants pretrial drug court diversion and the defendant successfully completes that diversion program.
Example: David is medical doctor; he is licensed by a CA medical Board. David is caught with cocaine for personal use, and he is thereafter charged with possession of a controlled substance. Result: If David is granted, and thereafter, successfully completes a pretrial diversion program pursuant to PC 1000, the CA medical Board may still suspend David’s medical license.
Seal & Destroy Criminal Arrest Record: Successful completion of diversion allows the criminal defendant (Petitioner) to apply for a seal and destroy of criminal arrest records under PC 851.92.
Immigration Consequences: PC 1000 diversion programs allow the defendant to enter into a drug treatment program without having to enter a plea of guilt. Therefore, PC 1000 programs are generally considered good to avoid immigration consequences related to any guilty plea in criminal court.
Alternative to PC 1000: In some cases, the criminal defendant might not want to, or cannot, enter a drug court pretrial diversion program as he or she might believe that the evidence of drug possession is insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In these cases, the defendant will still be informed of his or her eligibility to enter a PC 1000 program, but the defendant does not have to enter the PC 1000 program. He or she might want to defend against the allegation.
Of course, if the defendant is found guilty, or pleads guilty, to a crime that otherwise qualified for PC 1000 diversion, then he or she will not be allowed to reverse course and enter the PC 1000 program after conviction.
For more information on California’s pretrial drug court diversion, or PC 1000, contact our DUI & drug offense criminal defense lawyers today for a free consultation.
Our criminal defense lawyers, including winning trial lawyer, have successfully represented hundreds of criminal defendants in all the court and cities of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino & Riverside, including Fontana, Yucaipa, Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, Redlands, Ontario, Hesperia, Moreno Valley and more. Call today!
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