ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Prosecutors in Orange County and across California are backing Assembly Bill 46, legislation that would tighten eligibility standards for mental health diversion programs by giving judges greater discretion to deny diversion in certain cases, according to reporting by the Orange County Register.
Supporters of the bill argue current law has allowed some people to misuse diversion programs, while opponents say prosecutors are relying on rare but extreme examples to undermine a program they contend has largely succeeded.
According to the Orange County Register, one of the co-sponsors of AB 46, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, said, “Mental health diversion is continuing to be exploited by individuals who are looking for a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card instead of using diversion in the way it was intended.”
The Orange County Register reported prosecutors across California agree with Spitzer and often cite cases such as Gamaliel Camarena, who attacked a man with a machete, was placed on mental health diversion and, after failing to complete treatment, “went on to stab a drinking buddy 34 times outside a Venice 7-Eleven store in May 2024.”
Although no major injuries were inflicted in the earlier case, Camarena was reportedly experiencing serious mental health struggles and claimed he “had been genetically cloned in Orange County.” Nonetheless, the Orange County Register reported Camarena was later sentenced to life in prison.
Defense attorneys have pushed back against the bill by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, arguing prosecutors are “cherry-picking” a few horror stories to frighten the public into believing the program is out of control.
The Orange County Register also reported defense attorneys contend the bill would make it “too difficult for defendants to receive diversion, destroying a mostly successful program.”
The newspaper quoted Kim Stone, lobbyist for the California District Attorneys Association, who said that while such cases are infrequent, “the consequences are extreme… We do have dozens throughout the state of shocking examples. That’s a failure of the system.”
Those dozens of cases come out of 12,451 mental health diversions statewide, according to the Orange County Register. Defense attorneys point to a recent RAND Corporation study published in September 2024 that “showed that 53% of those given mental health diversion through the program successfully graduated. Less than 10% of the graduates went on to reoffend.”
Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association, said crime rates in California are falling and “not only the rate, but the (raw) numbers are dropping. It’s stunning… And yet DAs and law enforcement and the Republicans and moderate Democrats are attacking a successful program.”
Nonetheless, the Orange County Register quoted Nguyen arguing that “there are no guardrails… What we’re seeing is everybody is being granted mental health diversion… Anybody can claim they have some kind of mental health disability. We’re seeing that up and down the state.”
Chatfield responded that diversion is not automatic. “It’s not somebody saying, ‘Oh, I want diversion,’ and they have to give it… they need to qualify first.”
AB 46 would make the requirements for mental health diversion more stringent. According to the Orange County Register, illnesses would need to be diagnosed both before the offense and within five years of the offense.
The Register connected that proposal to the case of Lil Nas X, reporting that if AB 46 had already been enacted, it “would have blocked Grammy-winning rapper Lil Nas X from receiving mental health diversion after he was caught in August 2025 wearing only his underwear and cowboy boots while walking along Ventura Boulevard.”
If enacted, AB 46 would also make it easier for judges to deny mental health diversion. Under current law, the Orange County Register reported, a judge may believe diversion is inappropriate but still be required to grant it under existing standards.
Chatfield argued the measure would “block the door” for people, especially those unable to afford clinical professionals before one is appointed through the court process.
She also said the bill would increase costs to the legal system because “it would increase the number of defendants declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, meaning they would have to be treated until they can assist in their own defense.”
The Orange County Register concluded by quoting Chatfield again: “To what end? So they can go to jail and not get treatment?” she said. “This bill offers no solutions … it’s crime, crime, crime. They cherry-pick one or two cases to take down something.”
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Categories: Breaking News Everyday Injustice Tags: AB 46 California mental health diversion Criminal Justice Reform Public Defense Stephanie Nguyen Todd Spitzer