The Judge That Gives Also Taketh Away
A few of the Harris County, Texas Judges were reluctant to accept the DIVERT program when it started. In fact, there is still one judge that does not allow the program in his court. One of the main reasons that the judges where opposed to DIVERT was that it took away a significant amount of the power they have over the defendants in their court. Since the DIVERT contract is between the person charged with the DWI and the Harris County District Attorney's Office the judge is seemingly outside of the loop. Conversely, when someone goes on probation in Harris County the probation contract is between the defendant and the judge. Not surprisingly, some judges have proactively interfered with the DIVERT contracts by terminating them when they think one or more of the conditions are not being followed to the letter. These judges need to realize that the decision as to whether the contract is being performed accordingly it is up to the parties involved. They should not decide to terminate the contract unless one or both of the participants request from the court to end the agreement. How is a lawyer going to explain to their client that despite the fact that the Harris County District Attorney's Office is not complaining about their performance the judge does not want him/her on DIVERT any longer? The judge(s) that does this puts all the attorneys in an awkward position.