A recent sentencing in U.S. District Court in Newark was quite unusual. The defendant, charged with a serious drug crime and with a history of minor offenses stretching back as long as her drug addiction, faced a federal sentencing guidelines range of more than four years in prison. But something unusual was happening in this courtroom. Numerous pretrial and probation officials, government lawyers, and public defenders were in attendance. The government, which made it a condition of the plea that defendant could not argue for a sentence below the guidelines, moved for her to be sentenced to time served.

The government’s largess stemmed not from the defendant’s cooperation, but rather from the defendant’s participation in a little-known and apparently highly successful pretrial diversion program called NJ POP, or Pretrial Opportunity Program. When it came time for the sentencing to begin, it was clear that it was more akin to a highly emotional “graduation” than a normal sentencing. The defendant’s transformation over more than two years in the program from a rebellious addict to a sober, employed, and responsible member of society was lauded by the court and counsel. When the sentencing was over, the district Judge came down from the bench to hug the defendant. Then the defendant and several others in the POP program prepared for another POP meeting; for the next three years, during her probation, the defendant herself would be a mentor in the program.