In San Bernardino County, a current or former service member facing a criminal charge can ask for pretrial military diversion under Penal Code section 1001.80 before any conviction. For someone with a prior conviction for similar conduct, the county’s standard points instead to a post-conviction referral to Veterans Treatment Court. The court’s Request for Military Diversion form and its Military Diversion Requirements standard (revised June 2022) explain how a request is made and decided. (Request for Military Diversion and Military Diversion Requirements.)

Where military diversion fits among the county’s treatment courts

In a May 2024 announcement marking 30 years of collaborative treatment courts, the court listed seven court types: Adult Drug Court, Juvenile Delinquency Drug Court, Juvenile Mental Health Court, Juvenile GIRLS Court, Adult Mental Health Court, Veterans Treatment Court, and Shelter Court. Military diversion is not one of them. It postpones the prosecution before any plea, while Veterans Treatment Court takes cases after a conviction. For treatment courts statewide, see the firm’s veterans and military treatment courts overview. (San Bernardino Superior Court announcement.)

Who qualifies

The statute covers current and former U.S. service members whose service may have left them with PTSD, a traumatic brain injury, sexual trauma, a substance abuse problem, or another mental health condition. A felony became eligible on January 1, 2025, but only when that condition was a significant factor in the offense. Some charges can never be diverted under this law, among them murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, and every offense requiring registration as a sex offender except indecent exposure; for driving under the influence, only a misdemeanor DUI qualifies. San Bernardino’s form and standard still describe misdemeanor charges only, and the standard describes itself as guidance on how the program should run, not strict rules, so ask counsel how a felony request would be handled. (Penal Code section 1001.80; Military Diversion Requirements.)

The request and the hearing

The defendant starts by completing the court’s Request for Military Diversion, an optional-use form on which the defendant initials a set of advisements, including a speedy-trial waiver and an acknowledgment that the defendant must supply an assessment or other evidence of service and of the condition, plus a recommended treatment plan. Per the county’s standard, “once completed, the Court will schedule a hearing within four weeks for determination of whether the Defendant shall be placed on Diversion.” The defendant, not the prosecution, carries the load at that hearing: “the burden shall be on the veteran to prove he or she meets the criteria of Penal Code Section 1001.80.” Proof of current or former service is required, records of a service-connected disability may be submitted, and the court may request an assessment by the San Bernardino County Department of Mental Health to help decide the question.

Local limits beyond the statute

  • One grant per person. The standard says “Military Diversion should only be granted on a one-time basis,” and it rules out anyone who has already been through a military diversion or Veterans Court program anywhere in California.
  • Prior similar convictions. A defendant with a prior conviction for the same or similar conduct is generally considered for a Veterans Treatment Court referral after conviction instead.
  • Program length. A defendant admitted to the program waives a speedy trial for two years and must participate for at least one year; the statute caps diversion at two years.

Monitoring, problems, and completion

For a veteran eligible for Veterans Health Administration care, the assigned Veterans Justice Outreach specialist monitors treatment, and the standard says “reports shall be submitted to the Court every three months,” more often than the statute’s floor of “not less than every six months.” If performance is unsatisfactory, the court holds a hearing after notice, and the outcome can be continued diversion, a return to the original department for the criminal case, or a referral to the Veterans Court program. Finishing the program ends in dismissal, and the law then treats the arrest as if it never happened, except that it may still come up if the person later applies to work as a peace officer. Veterans Treatment Court works on different terms: under Penal Code section 1170.9, after a conviction the court must count a service-related condition as a factor in favor of probation when the defendant is otherwise eligible for it.

A San Bernardino County case involving military service can be discussed with the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.