Senate hearing spotlights House Bill 1425 to expand diversion, deflection and pretrial services

The Senate Judiciary Committee opened a hearing on House Bill 1425, a package of statutory changes to expand prosecution‑led diversion, authorize local deflection processes for first responders and create a three‑county pilot for supervision of pre‑sentence diversion, supporters said.

Lieutenant Governor Michelle Strinden, appearing for the Armstrong administration, told the panel, “For the record, my name is Michelle Strinden, Lieutenant Governor of the State of North Dakota. I'm here on behalf of the Armstrong Administration to speak in support of House Bill 14 25.” She said the bills grew from an interim reentry study and aim to “interrupt misconduct early and intervene with treatment resources in cases where addiction and mental illness are the root cause.”

Representative Lawrence Clamine, sponsor for the House, told the committee “House bill 14 25 targets the front end of reentry,” and summarized three major components: (1) clarifying and codifying prosecution‑led diversion authority, (2) authorizing local deflection processes that let law enforcement and first responders direct people to treatment and services rather than arrest, and (3) funding a pilot and a study of pretrial services. He said section 1 would “codif[y] court rule 32.2 of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure”…