RULE 586 DISPOSITION PROGRAM POLICY & GUIDELINES
Filing a Rule 586 Disposition Program application with the Clerk of Courts Office must occur after the preliminary hearing, however, the application must be submitted within 30 days from the arraignment date. Applications received 31 days after the arraignment date will be rejected. Rule 586 Disposition Program applications must be PACFiled unless the defendant is Pro Se.
Paper applications will be available at the MDJ Offices or at the York County District Attorney’s Office. Rule 586 Disposition Program Applications are also available online at https://www.yorkda.com in PDF format. Pro Se defendants may submit their application electronically at the above-mentioned web address or may file a hard copy with the Clerk of Courts Office.
Rule 586 Disposition Program applications will be rejected if applicants do not answer the questions accurately regarding violations of the law. REPORT ALL PREVIOUS CONTACTS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES WHETHER OR NOT IT RESULTED IN A CONVICTION. If you have any doubts as to whether something should be included in your answer, include it. Prior contact with the criminal justice system does not necessarily result in your being denied admission, however, providing false, misleading, or incomplete information will. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure accuracy.
Also, should you have contact with law enforcement after you have filed the application, that contact must be reported in writing to the York County District Attorney’s Office Diversion Unit within 72 hours after the contact.
The applicant and applicant’s counsel will receive either a recommendation for acceptance or a rejection, by mail and PacFile, within approximately 4-6 weeks after the scheduled arraignment date or application date, whichever is later.
If approved for the Rule 586 Disposition Program a placement hearing will be scheduled. Defense counsel will receive notice of placement date, total assessment amount, including restitution and court costs and deadline to be paid in full. At the time of placement, a status hearing will be scheduled as a place holder date if the defendant fails to pay in full by the deadline. If the case is paid in full by the deadline, an Order will be signed by the Judge dismissing the case pursuant to Rule 586 and the status hearing will be canceled.
If rejected, the rejection will be PacFiled and the matter will be scheduled for a pretrial conference, plea or listed for trial.
RULE 586 DISPOSITION PROGRAM APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY
The District Attorney reserves the right to consider specific factors when determining eligibility for Rule 586 Disposition Program and will note the reasons on a rejection notice. These include but are not limited to; protection of society, amenability to treatment and violation of the public trust.
Prior Outstanding Balances: Defendant shall not have any prior outstanding court balance that involves restitution.
Prior Offenses: All out-of-state offenses and in-state offenses, including: pending cases, juvenile offenses, ARD, Rule 586, Rule 546, PBJ, STET and summary offenses will be considered.
Restitution: Restitution shall not exceed $5,000.00, (except Welfare Fraud offenses pursuant to 62 P.S. § 481). In Welfare Fraud cases, restitution amounts exceeding $5,000.00 will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The defendant must demonstrate financial capability to pay costs/restitution in full by the required deadline,
Repeated Conduct: Prior repeated conduct of a similar nature to the current offense may cause exclusion.
Victim(s) Opinion: Victim(s) will be contacted and their opinion considered as per 18 P.S. §11.101, et seq. (Crime Victims’ Act). When 586 disposition is granted in cases where the victim opposes, substantial justification will be placed on the record at the time of final disposition.
Affiant Officer Opinion: The affiant will NOT be contacted by the District Attorney’s Office for a Rule 586 Disposition Program opinion. If the Affiant in the case would like to provide an opinion, they can do so by emailing Olivia Zellman at [email protected].
The District Attorney reserves the right to reject for situations deemed otherwise inappropriate. Reasons for rejection will be stated on the rejection notice.
Defendants who are rejected from Rule 586 Disposition Program consideration will have 30 days from the date of rejection to submit a Rule 586 Disposition Program Reconsideration Request. A formal request must be provided in writing and directed to the Deputy Administrator of the Diversion Unit at the address above or emailed directly to [email protected]. Reconsideration requests should address the reasons a defendant was rejected from Rule 586 Disposition Program. Any other reasons are valuable in the reconsideration process but must be submitted with the initial application. Any late reconsideration requests will be automatically rejected.
Disqualified Offenses:
- All offenses graded Felony 1 or 2
- Charges involving Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse
- Charges involving Title 18 Chapter 61 of Crimes Code (firearms and other dangerous articles) or conduct involving attempting to illegally obtain a firearm
- Charges involving Title 18 Chapter 31 of Crimes Code (sexual offenses)
- Charges involving Title 75 (vehicle code offenses)
- Charges involving Title 35 of Crimes code (drug offenses)
- Charges involving Deadly Weapon Enhancement
- Charles involving Serious Bodily Injury
- Retail Theft
- Intimidation/Retaliation of Victim/Witness
- Perjury
- Retaliation Against Prosecutor or Judicial Official
- Crimes that constitute a violation of public trust
- Any other offense committed by force, violence or threat thereof
- Attempt, Solicitation and/or Conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned offenses
