Driving Under the Influence defendants are entitled to California’s misdemeanant diversion program, per Pen. Code § 1001.95.

Diversion for DUI Defendant (Part II):  No sooner were we told that “Driving Under the Influence” defendants (i.e. “DUI,” per Veh. Code § 23152(a)) were not entitled to the diversion option (Penal Code §1001.95) offered most other misdemeanor defendants, (see People v. Superior Court (Espeso) (July 14, 2021) __ Cal.App.5th Supp. __ [2021 Cal.App. LEXIS 637]; California Legal Update, Vol. 26, #9; Admin. Notes), and a new case comes out touting an opposite result.  On July 27th, the Riverside Superior Court’s Appellate Division (in a split, two-to-one decision) went the other way, ruling that three DUI defendants who were charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence were lawfully placed on pretrial diversion, “despite the prohibition embedded in (Veh. Code) section 23640.” The new case is People v. Superior Court (Diaz-Armstrong) (July 27, 2021) __Cal.App.5th Supp. __ [2021 Cal.App. LEXIS 684]. 

So who is right?  We’ll have to wait and see if the Fourth District Court of Appeal takes up Diaz-Armstrong (the Second District Court of Appeal has already declined to mess with Espeso, I’m told), or the whole issue goes up to the California Supreme Court.