Can I get a plea in abeyance in Salt Lake without doing drug
court?
**NOTE:
Some information in this page is now outdated. As of 2013,
Salt
Lake County has discontinued the ARC program. In its place, a
new
program called "Alternative Substance Abuse Program" (ASAP) has been
initiated in the Salt Lake District Courts. For more current
information on the best way to handle your Salt Lake County
drug
possession charge, contact Utah criminal defense attorney
Stephen Howard.
Criminal charges for possession of most common street
drugs in Utah are
filed on the
felony
level. If you are charged with
drug
possession in Salt Lake County, a plea in abeyance is a
negotiated offer that can result in a complete dismissal of your
charges. In some cases, in order to get a
plea
in abeyance on a drug charge in Salt Lake County, you may be
required to complete a
drug court
program. However, if your prior criminal record is minimal,
you may be eligible for Salt Lake County's Alternative Resolution Court
(ARC) program.
The
ARC program is less intense than the drug court program. But it still
requires participation in drug treatment as well as frequent drug
testing (UA's) to ensure that participants are staying clean and sober.
Frequent appearances before the court can be required, and sanctions
can be imposed by the court if a participant is not in full compliance
with the program conditions.
Drug court or the ARC program
are two of the most common avenues for obtaining a plea in abeyance in
a Salt Lake drug case. It may be possible in some circumstances to
obtain a plea in abeyance without drug court or ARC. But often times, a
prosecutor will require participation in one of these programs in
exchange for State's agreement to hold the plea in abeyance.
Finding
an Experienced Utah Criminal Defense Attorney

Stephen Howard is an experienced
Utah
criminal defense attorney. Based in
Salt Lake City,
he is one of only a few criminal defense attorneys in private practice
in Utah with extensive experience working inside the Utah drug court
system. He has negotiated plea in abeyance agreements in drug
court and the ARC program for clients facing charges as serious as
first-degree felony drug distribution charges. As a result of
his efforts, clients who were facing the possibility of spending the
rest of their lives in prison have been given the opportunity to have
their cases dismissed.
If you are facing drug charges in Salt Lake or elsewhere in Utah,
contact us today to schedule an initial consultation with a seasoned Salt
Lake criminal defense lawyer.
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