Deferred disposition, or pre-trial diversion, or what ever your jurisdiction calls it is the next best thing to a not guilty verdict. At your arraignment you can plea not guilty and then ask if the prosecutor can tell you if you qualify. If you've never had criminal charges before, you most certainly would qualify. If you do, you might be able to get the referral into the program at that time. If not, you can submit a financial affidavit to the court to see if you qualify to have an appointed lawyer. But, a lawyer cannot get you a better deal than the diversion program because that results in the charges being dropped if you perform everything you promise in your contract. Some jurisdictions assess a cost of defense when a public defender is appointed, and there's no sense paying that if you can get pre-trial diversion without incurring that expense.

