When you are facing drug charges in West Virginia, there is a chance that you could enter into the drug court program if your case meets specific requirements. Generally, this program is open to defendants who are facing possession charges and who don’t have a violent history.
Drug court, which is a pretrial diversion program, is a program that removes you from the normal criminal justice system. Instead of worrying about preparing a defense, a pretrial diversion program allows you to focus on rehabilitating from the drug problem.
If you opt to pursue a pretrial division program, you should understand a few points about it. Generally, you have to plead guilty in order to get into the program. Once you plead guilty and get into the program, you have to follow the steps of the program. If you successfully complete the steps of the program, the charges that were placed against you will be dropped.
If you don’t complete the program, your case will be back before the court system as if you never entered into the pretrial diversion program. This means that you will face the same penalties as you did before you were accepted into the pretrial diversion program.
In order to be accepted into the pretrial diversion program for drug cases, the prosecutor has to determine that you are a good fit. That decision usually has to be verified by the judge. If this is something that you are interested in, you should find out as early in your case as possible if you are eligible. You should also learn about the conditions so you can determine if you are able to comply.
Source: FindLaw, “Deferred Adjudication / Pretrial Diversion,” accessed July 29, 2016
