A first misdemeanor arrest in Broward can end with the case dismissed through the Misdemeanor Diversion Program. But there's a 30-day deadline most people don't know about, a waiver that gives up two real rights, and a point where people think they're in when they aren't yet.
You got arrested on a misdemeanor in Broward. Petit theft, maybe. Possession of paraphernalia. Something that felt small until you were standing in a booking line at the main jail.
It's your first arrest. You've heard there's a program for people like you, and you're hoping that's true.
It is. Broward's Misdemeanor Diversion Program, MDP, exists for exactly this. Complete it and the case gets dismissed. But there's a deadline most people don't know about, a document you'll be asked to sign that gives up two real rights, and a point in the process where people think they're in when they aren't yet.
The Misdemeanor Diversion Program is Broward County's diversion track for first-time misdemeanor offenders. It's run jointly by the Broward State Attorney's Office and the Broward Sheriff's Office Department of Community Programs. If the prosecutor on your case determines you're preliminarily qualified, you sign a waiver, apply to the program, and, once accepted, complete a set of conditions over a period that usually runs three to twelve months. Conditions vary by charge but typically include an online course, community service hours, or both. When you finish, the State dismisses the case. Diversion programs in Florida are authorized under Florida Statute § 948.08, and final acceptance into MDP rests entirely with the State Attorney's Office.
First-time offenders. That's the gate.
Past the gate, it's discretionary. The assigned Assistant State Attorney reviews the file, the charge, and the nature of the offense, and checks your criminal history on the Clerk's system. Then they decide whether you're preliminarily qualified under the office's criteria. Certain charges and deviations from the usual criteria go up to a senior supervising ASA for case-by-case review.
There's no published list of what gets in and what doesn't. The answer depends on the charge, the facts, and if there's a victim, what that victim wants.
That last part does a lot of the deciding. A petit theft from a store that routinely signs off looks very different from a case where the person you're accused of wronging wants to be heard.
It moves in steps, and each one has a place where it can stall.
People miss the difference between the second step and the fourth. The ASA signing the memo feels like a yes. It isn't. It's permission to apply.
Thirty days from the date of arraignment or from the filing of a written plea of not guilty, whichever applies to your case.
That's the formal application window, and the sign-up at Community Programs generally falls inside the same 30 days. Treat it as firm. Broward is not a county that hands out extra time on diversion deadlines, and I wouldn't plan around getting any.
If you're reading this with an arraignment already behind you, do the math on how many of those 30 days are left. Then call someone today.
Two things, in writing: your right to a speedy trial and your right to discovery.
Read that again, because it's the part of the form people sign without thinking about. Discovery is how your lawyer finds out what the State actually has: the reports, the video, the witness statements. Speedy trial is the clock that forces the State to move. By applying to MDP you waive both.
That tells you something about how Broward treats diversion at every level. On the felony side, taking depositions or having substantive motions heard disqualifies you from PTI outright. On the misdemeanor side, you sign the waiver up front. Either way, the county's position is the same: you don't get to litigate and divert at the same time.
So the decision has to be made early and made on purpose. Is this a case with a real defense worth pushing? Or is this a case where the best available outcome is a dismissal through the program, and the smart move is to keep it clean and get the application in?
I sign these waivers regularly, and the conversation before the signature matters more than the signature. Get that conversation wrong in either direction and it's expensive.
The program usually runs three to twelve months, depending on the charge and the conditions attached.
Costs are standard across cases: a $150 cost of prosecution fee paid to the State Attorney's Office, plus a monthly supervision cost paid to the Department of Community Programs. If restitution is owed, that gets added on top and has to be paid in full.
Conditions vary. An online course is common. Community service hours are common. Some cases get both, and theft cases often carry a charge-specific program. The memo will spell out exactly what's required, so read it before you sign rather than after.
In cases with a victim, usually yes.
Victim input is the controlling factor most of the time, on both the misdemeanor and felony side in Broward. The State Attorney's Office asks the victim's position, and an objection carries enormous weight. Restitution paid in full before the application goes in changes that conversation more than anything else you can do.
The case goes back to court and gets set in the normal course.
That happens two ways. Fail to enroll inside the window and you've lost the option. Enroll and then miss the conditions, and the program sends the case back. Either way you're now defending a misdemeanor without the speedy trial rights you already waived, which is a worse position than the one you started in.
The way to avoid that is simple to say and easy to skip: know the conditions before you sign, be honest with yourself about whether you can actually complete them, and treat the 30 days as the deadline it is.
No. Broward runs two separate programs, and people mix them up constantly.
MDP is for misdemeanors, administered through BSO Community Programs, with a 30-day application window. Felony PTI is a different program for qualifying third-degree felonies, run through the Department of Corrections, with a 45-day window and a published list of excluded charges. If you're facing a felony, the Broward pretrial intervention page is the one you want.
If you're not sure which one your charge falls under, that's the first thing to figure out, because the deadlines are different and the wrong one is a real problem.
The program is for first-time offenders, and the ASA checks your history on the Clerk's system before signing off. An old arrest that never became a conviction is a different question than a prior conviction, and how the State treats it is discretionary. Ask directly rather than assuming you're excluded.
The waiver has a line for your attorney's signature and Bar number, and the memo is generated on the State's side after review of your file. Beyond the paperwork, the decision about whether to waive discovery and speedy trial is a legal judgment about your specific case, and it's the decision that matters most in this whole process.
That can help. When a victim doesn't object, the biggest obstacle to MDP is out of the way and the decision comes down to your record and the facts. Many retail theft cases in Broward resolve this way, but the State still has to sign off and you still have to apply on time.
The charge is dismissed at the end, but the arrest itself is a separate matter. Clearing an arrest record is its own process under Florida law with its own eligibility rules, and completing diversion affects what you qualify for later. It's worth understanding those rules before the case closes.
Broward treats the 30-day window as firm, and I would not build a plan around being the exception. If you're past it, the case is likely headed for the normal track. Call an attorney anyway, because the facts of your case may still support a good outcome even without diversion.
This page is general information about Broward County procedure, not legal advice about your case. Every case turns on its own facts, and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.
Your first case strategy session is free and completely confidential. Attorney Tyler Williams answers personally, 24/7.