Mental health diversion.

Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion, for a period no longer than 2 years, to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, in order to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law conditions eligibility on, among other criteria, a court finding that the defendant's mental disorder played a significant role in the commission of the charged offense. Existing law makes defendants ineligible for the diversion program for certain offenses, including murder, voluntary manslaughter, and rape. This bill would make defendants ineligible for the diversion program for charges of robbery if the defendant was armed with a weapon at the time of the offense, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and child abuse, as defined.