If the Riverside Superior Court has granted you Penal Code § 1000 pretrial drug diversion, read the completed referral order before choosing a program or assuming a court date has moved. Riverside’s current optional form RI-CR082 has separate blanks for the assigned treatment provider, proof-of-enrollment hearing, proof-of-completion hearing, and dismissal hearing. It also records reporting and financial terms. Your signed order and the court’s calendar control your case; an unfilled sample form does not admit you to diversion or set your dates. (Riverside Superior Court form RI-CR082; Penal Code § 1000.2)
Read the order in the order you must act
First, confirm the case number, courthouse named on your order, assigned program, and program contact information. The form lists several possible providers, but the referral line identifies the one selected for your case. Do not infer a provider from the city where you were arrested. Current § 1000 permits referral only to a qualifying program and allows a defendant to request a qualifying program in another county; a requested change still needs to be resolved through the court process. (RI-CR082; Penal Code § 1000(c))
Next, copy the three hearing entries into a calendar without treating them as interchangeable:
- At a proof-of-enrollment hearing, be ready to show the court the program’s enrollment confirmation or other proof requested in your order.
- At a proof-of-completion hearing, bring the program’s completion record and evidence that any other ordered conditions were addressed.
- At the dismissal hearing, confirm that the court actually dismissed the charge and obtain the resulting order or minute entry. The form’s conditional appearance-waiver language is not a blanket instruction to skip that hearing; ask counsel or the court whether your appearance remains required.
These are evidence-preparation steps, not a promise about what the judge will accept. Keep the signed referral, program correspondence, payment records, hearing notices, and later court orders together. If the program says you completed treatment but no dismissal appears in the court record, ask counsel to check the case status rather than treating the certificate as the court’s order. Section 1000.3 says the court dismisses charges at the end of successfully completed pretrial diversion, and it also provides notice and a hearing before termination for unsatisfactory performance or specified new convictions. (RI-CR082; Penal Code § 1000.3(a)–(d))
Check reporting and payment terms without guessing
RI-CR082 directs the defendant to report an address change and, on page two, to contact the court’s Enhanced Collections Department within five days of the referral about any imposed fees and fines. It has spaces for program fees, a diversion restitution fee, and other orders. Check what the judge actually marked or ordered and raise a missing, unclear, or unaffordable amount promptly with counsel. Section 1000.3 requires the court, before dismissal or termination, to consider ability to pay and whether an ordered diversion restitution fee or program obligation was paid. The form’s warning about reinstatement should not be read as automatic termination for a missed payment. (RI-CR082; Penal Code § 1000.3(e))
Current § 1000 is a pretrial diversion statute: the prosecutor evaluates the listed offense and statutory criteria, and the court holds a hearing and determines whether the defendant consents and should receive diversion. The statute sets a 12-to-18-month diversion period, with a good-cause extension available on the defendant’s request. Do not use an older description of deferred entry of judgment or a guilty plea to decide what your current referral means. If no signed referral has been issued, ask counsel whether the eligibility and court decision have occurred before enrolling or relying on a dismissal date. (Penal Code §§ 1000, 1000.2)
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley’s drug-diversion overview discusses broader options. To review a Riverside referral and the court dates actually set in your case, call (800) 755-5174.