Reducing Your Felony Charge/Conviction to a Misdemeanor – CPC 17
In the state of California, Penal Code 17 allows various individuals who (depending on their particular situation) have been convicted of felonies to have their conviction modified and lowered to a misdemeanor. Your California criminal lawyer will also tell you that the law further states that once the charge or conviction has been reduced to a misdemeanor, that misdemeanor can then be dismissed or expunged altogether.
What Are “Wobbler” Crimes?
More specifically, individuals who have been found guilty of or charged with a felony for a “wobbler” crime have a sincere interest in having that felony lowered to a misdemeanor. Wobbler crimes are particular types of crimes that can be classified and punished as either a felony or a misdemeanor based on the nature of the circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime. Additionally, in California, a court might lower certain felony convictions to misdemeanors after the fact.
Why Is a Misdemeanor Conviction Preferable?
A California criminal lawyer will typically inform his or her clients that there are a number of reasons why having a misdemeanor conviction on your record will be far better than having a felony on your record. Felonies call for a minimum jail sentence of at least one year in a county or state prison, along with a typical fine of $10,000. Furthermore, convicts lose their voting rights and will no longer be allowed to carry a weapon in the future. In the alternative, the most time in jail that a person will get for a misdemeanor crime is one year, but it can be as little as no time, and the maximum fine is $1,000. Also, none of your rights will have to be given up, and you most likely will not be expected to inform potential employers about your misdemeanor conviction.
A California Criminal Lawyer Can Help
Accordingly, it is imperative that individuals who find themselves in a situation where they’ve been charged or convicted of a felony employ the services of a California criminal lawyer who is fully aware of the finer points of California’s sentencing laws and penal codes. He or she can work to lower lesser felonies down to misdemeanors after a conviction. Likewise, individuals who have been charged with a wobbler crime may want to consider hiring a lawyer who has specific knowledge and adequate resources to be able to prioritize making sure that the crime gets tried as a misdemeanor from the start. If you need a California criminal lawyer, please call Daniel Cota at 800-351-6860 for a free consultation.