A San Diego judge granted Faizon Love two years of mental health diversion and took next week's trial off the calendar.

Diversion postpones the case. It does not dismiss it, and it does not produce a verdict. Harutunian said he disagrees with California's diversion statute and that he is required to follow it. He found prosecutors had not met the statute's clear-and-convincing standard. NBC 7 reported the diagnosis was not said in open court, and the clerk is not named.

NBC 7 San Diego reported Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, that Superior Court Judge Albert T. Harutunian III granted actor and comedian Faizon Love two years of mental health diversion and canceled a jury trial that had been set to start next week. The station reported Love is charged with felony assault, accused of ripping a credit-card reader off its mount in August 2024 and throwing it at a clerk at a Mission Valley hotel. The clerk is not named. Under the order, NBC 7 reported, he must keep attending mental health counseling at least twice a month, complete a 12-hour anger-management course, consult a psychiatrist about whether medication is appropriate, and stay away from the Sheraton hotel in Mission Valley and its employees. He is to return in January for a progress review and may appear by video. Diversion, as the station described California's statute, postpones the criminal case while he is in a court-approved treatment program. If he finishes it, the court generally dismisses the charges. If the diversion is terminated, the case can resume. Wednesday's order is the postponement. It is not a dismissal, and no jury heard the charge.

NBC 7 reported that public defender Marc Kligman told the judge Love has been in treatment and making progress since he voluntarily sought mental health care in 2025, that the diagnosis was not revealed in court, that Love has seen one provider for about a year and a half, and that he has stayed out of custody without further issues. Kligman argued the diagnosis contributed to the alleged offense and that treatment has already worked. "There really isn't a leg for the prosecution to stand on," Kligman said, in the station's account of his answer to the prosecution's challenge on whether the diagnosis and the alleged crime are connected. Prosecutors disagreed, NBC 7 reported. They argued Love has a history of confrontational behavior going back years before the mental health issues the defense cited, pointed to incidents dating to 2002, described a short fuse and a tendency toward hostility, and questioned whether counseling twice a month was enough and whether he also needed anger management. Those are the two arguments the station reported. The judge's order is what decided the hearing.

Before the diversion argument, NBC 7 reported, Harutunian denied a prosecution request for a separate face-to-face psychiatric evaluation by an expert retained by the court. The defense had already submitted evaluations from its own providers. The station reported that before he ruled, the judge said California's mental health diversion law has been expanded so that more defendants can get treatment instead of a conventional prosecution, including in cases he said could pose risks to public safety. "It's a policy decision I disagree with," he said. "I think it values public safety too low." He also said, "I think the legislature has the right to make that policy decision. And it's my job to follow that policy." NBC 7 reported he said the statute presumes a qualifying mental health disorder contributed to the alleged offense unless prosecutors overcome that presumption with clear and convincing evidence, and that he found they had not met that burden. He also found Love had a qualifying diagnosis and that the treatment plan can be adjusted during the two years. Love is known for the films Friday, Elf, and Couples Retreat, NBC 7 reported. The felony assault charge remains on the case while the diversion runs. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.