Eligibility requirements and approval for entry into M. The purpose of the PTI program is to afford first time felony offenders the opportunity to avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction by diverting their case from the trial court process. Defendants charged with a qualifying third degree felony may be approved for this program.
Effective Nov. The new program helps drivers accused of misdemeanor offenses of driving with a suspended, revoked or canceled license to tackle the underlying issues — which often include financial instability and lack of employment opportunities — and get their licenses back. For many low-income residents, a simple traffic ticket can spiral into what seems like an overwhelming burden and they can lose their license because they are unable to pay the ticket, satisfy a lien or judgement, or pay other court-ordered fines or fees.
License To Drive, supervised by a private vendor called Court Options, works with defendants to help them navigate the steps they need to take to obtain a valid license. The program will help to improve public safety by ending the cycle of financial hardship that contributed to the legal issues.
Prosecutors will determine eligibility with help from the in-court caseworker. The program uses non-adversarial approaches and a coordinated strategy developed by a treatment intervention team. The recommendations of law enforcement involved in the case and the recommendations of any alleged victim will also be considered. Restitution to victims is required. A defendant accused of a misdemeanor or felony may participate if he or she is approved by the state attorney, in consultation with the court.
Not all charges are eligible for entry into the program. The chief judge and state attorney have the exclusive authority to determine whether veterans who have received dishonorable or bad conduct discharges may participate. A defendant may be eligible to enter the program, but is not entitled to do so. For more information, please email [email protected]. This program is aimed at helping people with mental illness and reducing the number of jail inmates by linking them to appropriate mental health treatment in the community.
Successful completion of the program will require making full restitution to the victim, if applicable, in addition to other conditions. It is highly recommended that defendants speak with their attorney regarding the benefits of entering this program as opposed to continuing through the court process. Please be advised that the taking of depositions or hearing substantive motions will disqualify a defendant from PTI consideration.
An attorney seeking PTI on behalf of a defendant must apply within forty-five 45 days from the date of arraignment. The documents necessary to apply are listed below. Once received, the SAO will review and process the application to determine if the defendant qualifies for the program.
The entire process may take from 30 to 90 days from the date the application is received at the SAO. Applicants who meet PTI requirements and are subsequently supervised within the state of Florida by the Florida Department of Corrections are not required to enter a plea of guilty to the charges to participate in PTI.
However, should you reside out of state during the period of supervision, you must plead guilty to the charges and have your sentencing deferred for a period of one year. If a defendant opts in, he or she shall execute an agreement to comply with the pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program and all pretrial intervention requirements of the Florida Department of Corrections.
The pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program may require residential treatment. At the eighteen 18 month anniversary of entry into a pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program the court shall conduct a status conference and determine if the defendant did or did not successfully complete the pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program.
If the defendant did not successfully complete the pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program, absent extraordinary circumstances, the case shall be transferred to the originally assigned circuit criminal division for all future hearings. The Pretrial Intervention Pilot Project is a program that is limited to forty 40 defendants who are identified as having a substance abuse problem or substance addiction, meet the requirements for pretrial intervention, and.
The initial forty 40 defendants participating in the pretrial intervention pilot project will be selected as follows:. If a victim of the crime for which the defendant is charged is entitled to restitution, the defendant must agree to pay restitution and complete payment by the time he or she completes the pretrial intervention pilot project.
The agreement to enter the pretrial intervention pilot project will contain a provision for restitution and a payment plan.
The judge may extend participation in the pretrial intervention pilot project for the defendant to complete payment of restitution to the victim. Applicants with a prior felony arrest will be reviewed on a case by case basis. An experienced criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale, FL, can help you make the best decision. Even after the program is completed and the charges are dropped, the impact of the arrest and resolution of the case can follow you for a life-time.
In order to obtain or maintain a license to practice your chosen profession, you might have to disclose details about the case.
If you are not eligible to expunge the record, then the impact is even greater. Call us for a free consultation to discuss the facts of your case. Call today. Depending on the facts of the case, the special terms of the PTI program might include one or more of the following:.
If you violate any of these special conditions, then you will be rejected from PTI and your case will be scheduled in court. The prosecutor will then attempt to use your signed admission against you at trial. If you decide that entering the PTI program is in your best interest, then you must apply within forty-five 45 days of arraignment. To apply for the program, you must submit the following documents:. After the documents are received, a PTI officer will review the application to determine if you qualify for the program.
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