On April 7, 2009, New York’s Legislature enacted historic revisions to the notoriously harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws.  Many of the changes became effective immediately, applying to cases pending at the time the legislation was signed.  As detailed in this 2009 Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Sentencing Chart, for most first time drug offenders, imprisonment is no longer mandatory, and the centerpiece of the reform is authorization for a sentencing court to divert most defendants with an identified alcohol or substance abuse problem to treatment in lieu of prison, without the consent of the District Attorney, which was a requirement under the previous version of the law.