Nevada DUI Diversion Program Offers Alternative to Prison
Two weeks ago, a twenty-five year old in Churchill County pled guilty to his third DUI in seven years. Normally a third-time DUI is an automatic felony mandating at least a year in prison, but he may be able to avoid prison and a felony conviction altogether if he’s accepted to and successfully completes the Nevada DUI Diversion Program.
The Nevada DUI Diversion Program, which lasts for three to five years, is designed to rehabilitate and educate repeat offenders instead of punishing them. Participants commit themselves to six months of house arrest, counseling, strict supervision, unannounced searches and seizures and breath tests with a Sobrietor, and appearances before a district court judge every two weeks so he/she can monitor their progress. Furthermore, the program costs upwards of $14,000 to cover all the costs and fees, including a substance abuse evaluation and a breath interlock device.
Nevada DUI Diversion Program participants who violate the terms, such as having alcohol, must spend a month in jail for the first offense. But if participants break the rules for a second time, they’re automatically thrown out of the program and sent to prison. And a subsequent DUI offense is two to fifteen years in prison. But if they’re successful in the program, the offense is reduced to a gross misdemeanor.
