§ 135.941 Early disposition programs

Every county has a local public safety coordinating council that helps plan how criminal cases move through the system. This rule requires those councils to set up "early disposition programs." These programs offer a faster, simpler way to resolve certain criminal cases instead of going through the full court process.

The rule says these fast-track programs must be available to two groups of people: first-time offenders charged with less serious crimes, and people accused of violating their probation. The less serious crimes covered here are called "nonperson offenses." This means the crime cannot be a major felony (Class A or B) and cannot be a crime that involves harm to another person, like certain assaults or serious misdemeanors against people.

Counties also have the choice to expand these programs to cover other types of offenders if they want to, though they are not required to do this. The idea behind the rule is to give people accused of lower-level crimes a quicker path through the system, which can save time and resources for both the courts and the people involved in the case.