When a person is arrested on a domestic violence offense, he or she can ultimately be charged with either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on a number of different factors. There are significant differences between felony and misdemeanor level offenses in California and cases that start out as felonies can sometimes be reduced to misdemeanors. It is important to understand the differences between a domestic violence felony and misdemeanor offense and what these differences mean to those who are facing charges.

A felony is the most serious level of criminal offense in California. Those who are convicted of felonies can be sentenced to serve time in a California state prison facility. A person can be convicted of a felony and be placed on formal probation for a specific period time. The judge can impose up to a year in jail as a condition of the felony grant of probation. A felony conviction carries significant consequences, including the loss of voting rights, and having a felony conviction on one’s record may preclude people from being considered for many jobs and housing opportunities.

Misdemeanors on the other hand are defined as crimes that are punishable by up to one year in county jail. Many people convicted of misdemeanor level offenses are placed on informal probation and may have to serve some time in jail as a condition of probation. Misdemeanors can also carry collateral consequences and will remain on a person’s record unless and until the conviction is expunged.

Certain felonies are considered “wobblers,” which can be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors. Prosecutors will consider the facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal record when determining what level of criminal charges to file. In some cases, the judge may reduce a felony to a misdemeanor under California Penal Code Section 17(b) PC when the offense is a wobbler. In many domestic violence cases, the defendant will be arrested on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse in violation of California Penal Code Section 273.5 PC, which is a wobbler offense. Prior to the defendant’s arraignment date, the detective assigned to the case and the filing Deputy District Attorney will review the case and decide what level of charges to file. Typically, a prosecutor will file felony charges when there are injuries or where the defendant has a history of domestic violence offenses on his or her criminal record. Punishments are often increased when the victim suffers serious bodily injury as a result of the defendant’s conduct.

Los Angeles moved this week to dismiss nearly 66,000 marijuana convictions, years after the state voted to legalize the drug.

The county is working with a not-for-profit technology organization, Code for America, to use algorithms to identify eligible cases within decades-old court documents.

“The dismissal of tens of thousands of old cannabis-related convictions in Los Angeles county will bring much-needed relief to communities of color that disproportionately suffered the unjust consequences of our nation’s drug laws,” said Jackie Lacey, the LA district attorney, in a statement.

Prosecutors this week asked a superior court judge to dismiss 62,000 felony cannabis convictions for cases that date back to 1961. The district attorney’s office also sought the dismissal of approximately 4,000 misdemeanor cannabis possession cases.

Of those getting relief under the plan, approximately 45% are Latino, 32% are African American, 20% are white, and 3% are other or unknown, officials said.

California voters approved eliminating some pot-related crimes and wiping out past criminal convictions or reducing felonies to misdemeanors when they legalized marijuana in 2016.

But there was no easy way to identify an estimated 200,000 cases statewide. Convicts had to file petitions on their own to get their records changed or hire lawyers for help with the process.

Code for America has offered its Clear My Record technology free to all 58 state district attorneys.

With the latest action, Code for America will have helped dismiss more than 85,000 marijuana convictions in five counties including LA, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Contra Costa, officials said.

“This is a clear demonstration that automatic record clearance is possible at scale and can help to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs,” said Evonne Silva, Code for America’s senior program director of criminal justice, in a statement.

The computer program not only identifies eligible cases, but automatically fills out forms to file with the courts. It can analyze conviction eligibility for about 10,000 people a minute, instead of requiring county employees to dig through individual records.

 A felony hit and run crime was committed on the evening of September 24, 2020 in Hollywood. At approximately 7:00PM, a group of more than 300 protesters marched through Hollywood. While there were isolated reports of vandalism, the group was largely peaceful. The group eventually made its way onto Sunset Boulevard.

At approximately 9:00PM, a blue pick-up truck traveling on Sunset Boulevard maneuvered through the crowd and became involved in an altercation. As the driver of the pick-up truck attempted to get away from the situation, he struck a protester standing in the street. That individual was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Not long after that, a white Prius attempted to drive around that same protest and also became involved in an altercation with individuals in the crowd. A black pick-up truck leading the protests accelerated and pinned that white Prius in, forcing it to come to a stop. The driver of the Prius attempted to flee the area and reversed into a green mustang behind it. That vehicle was also participating in the protest.

Both the drivers of the pick-up truck and the green Mustang attempted to extract the driver of the Prius from his vehicle. However, that driver was able to get away from the scene.

Even though the driver initially escaped, several blocks away, he was detained by Hollywood officers and booked into Hollywood jail. There were no injuries associated with that second incident.

The drivers and victims involved in both altercations have been identified by Hollywood Officers and the investigation is on-going.