Felonies, Misdemeanors and Infractions –
Misdemeanors are Maximum 6 Months in Jail
What is a misdemeanor? Its legal definition is a crime that is less serious compared to a felony . California categorizes its crimes in 3 types.
Misdemeanors are only punishable in jail for a max of up to a year. And lastly, there are infractions that mainly fine. The average or standard misdemeanors are usually punished as a 6-month sentenced to jail and a $1,000 fine. There are large lists of crimes that qualify as a misdemeanor. However, there are crimes that are on the border for misdemeanors. How the punishment carried depends on the facts of the case and your history.
Examples of misdemeanour-felony crimes include elder abuse and assault. Examples of a misdemeanour-infraction crime include disturbing the peace and trespassing.
However, there are misdemeanors that do offer a harsher penalty. Some crimes increase sentences.
Examples of these 2nd and 3rd DUI, domestic violence, and driving with a suspended license. When dealing with these charges it’s important to have a Criminal Defense Attorney who regularly deal with these matters. In addition, it’s also helpful for to have an attorney
Felony Involves Prison Time But you can do County
Felonies are the most serious and usually end with years in prison. However, there are a lot of felonies that end up with defendants only doing local county jail time and receiving a criminal record. In lots of offences people will only do a few months in jail. In addition, if they did well on probation then the case can be expunged.
There are differences between an aggravated misdemeanor and a felony. However a lot of the crimes can roll as either and the line is thin. A lot of misdemeanors will often cause you to go under a probation sentence. What this means is that the judge will grant you a chance to avoid jail time.
However you must fill the conditions the judge gives to you. Popular examples include community service, roadside work, and house arrest through an electric monitoring system. You may also have to go see a psychiatrist or a counselor if asked by the judge or you may have to pay the victim compensation. Even if you commit crimes you can clear your criminal record.
Expungement allows you to clear you record and start with a clean slate.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor then you need to know what you are dealing with. Speak with an attorney to see what you can do to.
Infraction are Not Always Infractions
Infractions in California are lowest types of crimes in the justice system . Felonies would be the most serious crimes that you go to prison or get the death sentence for. Misdemeanors which are punishable by a max of a year in jail. And infractions would be the tickets and very minor criminal offenses. The most common times you would face an infraction are the times you are driving on the road. The tickets the police give you after stopping you after you were speeding or doing an illegal U-turn is an infraction. An infraction is a punishment that does not put the person into custody or probation. And such the maximum fine a person under infraction can see would be up to $250.
An Infraction does not carry with it any type of county jail time. In most cases civil infractions are handeld for money only. They do not invovle a jury trial and are heard by judges only. However, there are examples of punishment for infractions that can lead to a misdeameanor charge. These involve a traffic violations where a person receives a citation to appear in court and chose not to go. When this happens, there is a new charge of failure to appear. In addition to this, the court will also suspend a person’s license. Once the license is suspended they will no longer have the ability to drive. If the gets stop for any type of violation that involves traffic tickets then they will also be cited for driving with on a suspended license misdemeanor.
Wobblet Half Misdemeanor Half Infraction
An infraction is usually the bottom of the chain in terms of the justice system. However there are crimes that do blur the line between an infraction and a misdemeanor. Crimes such as speeding and disturbing the peace can both be charged as wobblets.
Wobblet are crimes that can be charged as either (in this case) a misdemeanor or an infraction. The circumstances that usually decide whether a crime passes as one of two includes criminal history and the crime itself. Usually in order for a wobbler to even be charged the crime would have to be one that would have to have criminal intent to cause harm or trouble for others.
These borderline misdemeanor offenses can still result in jail penalties and result in a misdemeanor conviction if not handled right. The right thing to do about this type of offense would be to get the judges or prosecutors to make these into infractions. Once this happens a trial by jury is no longer in the picture and the penalty is teh same as a traffic ticket. You need to talk with the local criminal defense lawyers if you want to go this route.
I.E. Speeding through the streets can cause harm to others. An illegal U-turn although it may cause trouble, does not need to hurt others to do it. Each case is handled separately and these are just guidelines.
