A diversion program, which Texas law calls pretrial intervention, is a deal with the prosecutor that pauses your criminal case while you complete a set of conditions. If you finish, the State dismisses the charge. You never plead guilty or get convicted, and under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.053(a)(2)(C) you’re entitled to have the arrest expunged, which means the records are destroyed, not just hidden. That’s what makes diversion better than probation and better than deferred adjudication when you can get it.
If you’ve been charged in Houston or Harris County and want to know whether diversion is on the table, call (713) 664-4000. Admission is up to the prosecutor, and how the application is presented early in the case matters.
Diversion vs. deferred adjudication vs. probation
| Pretrial diversion | Deferred adjudication | Probation after conviction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you get there | Agreement with the prosecutor, no plea | Guilty or no-contest plea | Guilty plea or a conviction at trial |
| Conviction? | No | No, if completed | Yes |
| How it ends | Charge dismissed | Case dismissed | Sentence served |
| Record afterward | Arrest can be expunged | Can usually be sealed by nondisclosure, but never for family violence or sex offenses | Only some first-time misdemeanors can be sealed, and a first DWI only if it was under 0.15 with no crash involving another person |
| If you fail | Case goes back on the docket, and anything you admitted in the program may be used against you | Judge can find you guilty and sentence you up to the maximum | Probation can be revoked and the sentence imposed |
Sources: Code of Criminal Procedure Arts. 42A.101, 42A.108 and 55A.053; Government Code §§ 76.011, 411.072, 411.073 and 411.0731.
The difference in the last row is a big reason diversion is the better deal. Failing deferred adjudication leaves you with a guilty plea already on file, and the judge can sentence you anywhere in the full range. Failing diversion puts the case back on the docket with no plea on file, and it’s still a case you can fight.
How pretrial intervention works in Texas
Pretrial intervention is authorized by Government Code § 76.011, which lets the local community supervision department run the program. Supervision can’t last longer than two years under § 76.011(c). The prosecutor decides who gets in; there’s no statutory right to diversion, and a judge can’t order the State to offer it.
Conditions look a lot like probation: reporting, fees, drug and alcohol testing, classes, sometimes community service or restitution. The difference is what happens at the end. Many programs also require you to give a written account of what happened, and that document is the catch. If you’re kicked out of the program, the State may try to use it against you, which is why we review exactly what goes into it before anyone signs.
Texas also has specialty courts that work like diversion for certain people, including drug courts under Government Code chapter 123 and veterans treatment and mental health courts under chapters 124 and 125. Completing a veterans or mental health court program that ends in dismissal also supports an expunction under Art. 55A.053.
Who qualifies in Harris County
The Harris County District Attorney’s office runs its own pretrial intervention programs, and the rules change with each administration. First-time, lower-level cases are the usual candidates, including first-offense DWIs charged as a Class B and small drug possession cases. On a DWI, a felony charge, a high alcohol concentration, a crash with injuries, or a prior record can each keep you out. Our page on the Harris County DWI pre-trial intervention program goes through the DWI version in detail.
Other counties handle this differently. Montgomery County, for example, now relies on pretrial diversion in cases where a reduction used to be the goal. Knowing what each county’s prosecutors will actually agree to is a big part of what we do.
Diversion isn’t always the best outcome
A diversion offer means a year or two of conditions and fees. If the State’s case has a real problem, a dismissal without any conditions is better, and so is an acquittal. We’ve had a Harris County DWI dismissed outright where the client was stopped for a turn signal, failed the field sobriety tests, blew a .103 and admitted drinking. See our case results.
So we look at both at once: whether the case can be beaten, and whether diversion is available if it can’t. Taking diversion on a case that should have been dismissed costs you time and money you didn’t need to spend.
Want to know if you qualify for diversion in Houston? Call Blass Law
Jay Blass Cohen has defended criminal cases in Houston since 2009 and has only ever worked on the defense side. We’ll tell you on the first call whether your case is a realistic diversion candidate or one we should fight instead, and what the expunction afterward will look like. Our page on expunctions in Houston covers that last step.
Call (713) 664-4000.
A Houston DWI and criminal defense attorney since 2009 who has never worked for the prosecution. Jay is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, a certified practitioner and instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, a certified Drug Recognition Expert, and trained in forensic chromatography. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, and an appointee to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission by Gov. Abbott in 2024.
Last reviewed September 2026 · This article is legal information, not legal advice. Read Jay’s full bio →