You have just been accused of a crime but how serious is it really?
Well, the first place to start is by looking at the level of the crime. Is it a misdemeanor or a dreaded felony. It is like the difference between high school and elementary school. Both are very scary and nerve wrecking at first but we all know the difficulty of making it through the social jungle of freshman year.
Misdemeanor crimes usually do not involve extreme violence or theft of a large quantity of money. DUI’s and minor domestic violence cases can be classified as misdemeanors. The punishment for a misdemeanor is usually a maximum of 6 month or 1 year in physical custody (jail).
A felony is a much more severe crime.
Felonies are punishable by state prison or local jail. Felony cases usually involve more sophistication to complete, involve more violence, or a higher amount during a theft. There are many navigable rules within the California Penal Code to help guide you through the specific labelling of your accusation.
In California some cases are classified as “wobblers” meaning they can be prosecuted as both misdemeanors and felonies. In many instances a helpful resolution to a matter is to reduce the Felony matter to a Misdemeanor through the use of Penal Code 17(b).