If you were convicted of a felony, under Proposition 47, you may be able to have your felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. To determine if you qualify, contact us today for an appointment to discuss your case for free.
Proposition 47 went into effect on November 5, 2014 and about 40,000 offenders each year who are convicted of these types of crimes are affected by the Proposition 47 bill that was passed by voters.
Proposition 47 allows for re-sentencing and/or reduction of pre-November 5, 2014 felony convictions to misdemeanors. This is great news for anyone who was previously convicted and sentenced to a felony. The retroactivity provisions apply differently in each case, depending on whether the person has completed his or her sentence or is still serving his or her sentence.
Proposition 47 went into effect on November 5, 2014 and about 40,000 offenders each year who are convicted of these types of crimes are affected by the Proposition 47 bill that was passed by voters.
Proposition 47 allows for re-sentencing and/or reduction of pre-November 5, 2014 felony convictions to misdemeanors. This is great news for anyone who was previously convicted and sentenced to a felony. The retroactivity provisions apply differently in each case, depending on whether the person has completed his or her sentence or is still serving his or her sentence.
Any person that committed one of the crimes below benefits from Proposition 47. It is important to understand what charges are able to be reduced and which ones are not. Therefore, before requesting relief under Proposition 47, our office will make sure it is the appropriate relief for your case.
If you have been convicted of a felony, it is important to have your charge reduced because there are time limits to file the application or petition. By contacting our office today, we can represent you in order to obtain a reduction in a timely manner. The Courts, prosecutors, and judges are backlogged with requests, but by hiring an attorney, we can jump ahead of the line and obtain your reduction quickly so you do not have a felony showing on your record.
This diagram represents the most common cases and what appropriate relief is required.
To determine the relief, you must first know the charge you are being accused of or entered a plea.
If you were convicted of a charge under Proposition 47, you then need to determine if you were sentenced to prison or probation.
If, however, you received an initial prison sentence or you violated probation that resulted in a prison sentence, then you will likely qualify for Proposition 47 relief.
For all other charges where you received probation, you will likely qualify for an expungement as long as you complied with all terms of probation.
As you can see, an expungement will give you the most relief, so if you have the option, a petition to dismiss under PC 1203.4 is appropriate. Click here or on the picture to see an expanded view.
Almost all low-level theft offenses will be charged as misdemeanors, as long as the person is not excluded and the amount is typically under $950.00. Therefore, prosecutors are not allowed to charge the crime of burglary and the crime of shoplifting or theft when it involves the same property.
The District Attorney will have to decide the charge at filing, thereby the prosecutor loses two bites at an apple they have normally been allowed to do when charging these types of crimes.
Receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496) is now a straight 364 day misdemeanor for many defendants as long as the value does not exceed $950. If the value is higher, then the prosecutor has discretion to charge the crime as a felony or misdemeanor because the crime is a wobbler.
A wobbler occurs when a charge can be either a felony or misdemeanor. Only the prosecutor has discretion when determining charges, so the higher the value, the more likely it will be charged as a felony.
The new grand theft law requires the value of an item be over $950.00 in order for someone to be charged with felony grand theft.
For the charge of grand theft, the new law requires the prosecutor to prove any grand theft offense.
It is important to note that a person can be charged with a felony, regardless of the value of the item, when it involves theft from a person, theft of a firearm, and grand theft auto.
The new law amends Penal Code section 666, petty theft with a prior (commonly referred to as shoplifting).
Petty theft with a prior can only be charged as a felony when the defendant has a single prior specified theft conviction, but only if the defendant also has a prior conviction for a registerable sex offense or a crime under Penal Code section 667(e)(2)(C)(iv).
If you have received a prior felony Penal Code 666, these charges can be reduced to misdemeanors as long as you qualify under the law.
The new law amends forgery and check fraud charges to misdemeanors, which are punishable by a maximum term of one year.
This applies when the value of the check, bond, bank bill, note, cashier's check, traveler's check, or money order at issue does not exceed $950.00 in value.
If you have a prior felony conviction for check fraud, you can have it reduced to a misdemeanor if the amount was less than $950.00.
Receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496) is now a straight 364 day misdemeanor for many defendants as long as the value does not exceed $950. If the value is higher, then the prosecutor has discretion to charge the crime as a felony or misdemeanor because the crime is a wobbler.
A wobbler occurs when a charge can be either a felony or misdemeanor. Only the prosecutor has discretion when determining charges, so the higher the value, the more likely it will be charged as a felony.
If you are currently facing criminal charges, make sure you have an experienced and dedicated criminal lawyer on your side for your Proposition 47 case.
By retaining the Law Offices of Tina M. Barberi, PC, our criminal lawyer will determine if your case qualifies under the law in order to ensure you are not wrongly charged with a felony you are facing. There are time constraints in all criminal cases, especially if you are interested in reducing your felony conviction to a misdemeanor under California Proposition 47. Contact us or call (559) 447-1240 immediately to discuss your Prop 47 or expungement matter.
