City Launches New Diversion Program in Traffic and Municipal Courts

Edited by Tribune Staff

The New Orleans City Attorney’s Office has launched a new Diversion Program at Municipal and Traffic Court, offering an alternative to convictions and jail time. The program is designed to address the causes of low-level, non- violent offenses by offering the participants substance abuse and mental health support and other necessary programs in an effort to eliminate recidivism. 

 Successful completion of this Diversion Program will result in the participants’ charges being dismissed, which would reduce barriers to employment and housing for residents whose records would otherwise be adversely impacted by low-level, non-violent offenses.

“The goal of the program is to ensure that New Orleanians have access to interventions that support and enrich lives for constructive change,” City Attorney Charline Gipson said. 

“We share New Orleans’ goal of keeping drivers safe, preventing future offenses, and educating the public in an empathetic setting about the lasting effects of impaired driving,” Sunny Wall, Louisiana Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said. 

This new Diversion Program will provide qualified individuals the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to better decision-making and self-help with oversight and monitoring where needed, with the goal of better outcomes and reducing strains on the jail and court system.