What Domestic Violence Diversion Programs are in South Florida? Fort Lauderdale Domestic Defense Attorney Shares

in the image, a man and woman are fighting in a hallway while a child is sitting at a dining room table with his head on his arms on the table with his teddy bear. The image is meant to depict a domestic violence situation in Fort Lauderdale, South FloridaDiversion programs are one of the main ways that a South Florida domestic violence charge against you could be dismissed. 

Diversion Programs are forms of pre-trial intervention, which can cause your domestic violence case to “divert” from a typical criminal sentence. If someone facing a domestic violence charge is granted permission to participate in a domestic violence diversion program, there is a chance that the criminal charges are dropped. 

Benefits of domestic violence diversion programs in South Florida

If someone successfully completes a domestic violence diversion program, criminal domestic violence charges against you are completely dismissed as a result. 

Domestic Violence Diversion Programs are the only way to guarantee that the domestic violence charges against you will be dismissed in Florida. A diversion program is a great way to avoid a trial - the thing about Trials in Florida (or any state) is that trials are never absolutely certain. There are a  lot of factors that influence whether or not the jury on your case will decide if you are guilty or innocent of your alleged crime. 

Domestic violence diversion program downsides in South Florida

There are a few downsides to domestic violence diversion programs in Florida, however. The benefit a diversion program can have for your case is immense, but typically domestic violence intervention programs include requiring someone to take higher-level anger management courses and sometimes require people to take the 26-week Batterers Intervention Course. These classes are time-consuming, and are not always cheap. Learn how much batterers intervention courses can cost here. 

The stakes are also high. Essentially, if you are granted permission to participate in a diversion program - you have ONE chance to make it work. If you successfully complete it, your charges are dismissed.

If you don’t complete every requirement, though, or if you are rearrested for an unrelated crime, or otherwise ‘fail’ out or violate the program - you will be kicked out of the diversion program and “fail” the program. Failing the domestic violence diversion program means you lose your only chance of getting your charges dismissed pre-trial. 

Questions? 

If you have questions about domestic violence diversion programs in South Florida, feel free to give our office a call. We’re ready & happy to help you at one of our three locations. 

Give us a call today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your domestic violence allegations:

→ RELATED: RESOURCES for victims of Domestic Violence, & for people accused of Domestic Violence

→ RELATED: FREE booklet helps you Understand Domestic Violence charges in Florida 

→ RELATED: How much does a domestic violence diversion program in Florida cost?

→ RELATED: What is a Batterers Intervention program in South Florida?

→ RELATED: FREE booklet on the client experience at Rossen Law Firm