Eligible For Wisconsin Pretrial Diversion Program

Question: How long does it take for someone to become a United States citizen?

Answer: That, again, can depend on the specific program. But usually with a drug court program, a lot of that is only—it’s a requirement that the person probably hasn’t been convicted of any felonies—or at least nothing too serious—and has been shown to have some sort of a treatment need, either a drug or alcohol problem. So the diversion programs—some counties require that it be first-time offenders, of someone that doesn’t have any criminal convictions. For other counties, there might be some level of conviction that would be allowed and you can still be in a pretrial diversion. But a lot of times like in Dane County, for example—which has a pretty big diversion program—they require that the person have no previous criminal conviction and then they go in, they have a contract. It’s based on the charge and their specific needs. Once the contract is fulfilled, generally the charge is dismissed. Occasionally, you could have a specific agreement that would call for it to be reduced. For example, from a felony to a misdemeanor. Those are common examples of diversion programs in Wisconsin.