FELONY

There are two different types of crimes; misdemeanor or felony offenses

Felony crimes, even nonviolent crimes, hold serious ramifications and the sentence calls for a prison sentence, increased fines, and in extreme cases life in prison or even the death penalty. While most felony cases in California are punishable by a prison term, a dependable and determined criminal lawyer can help you seek a dismissal, reduction in the sentence, reducing the charges to a misdemeanor, or arrange for alternative sentencing.

• Nonviolent crimes: petty theft (or shoplifting) with a prior conviction, embezzlement, bribery, fraud, forgery, perjury, embezzlement, identity theft, internet crimes, and insurance fraud.

• Drug crimes : possession, selling, manufacturing, distributing, and possession with intent to sell, transportation.

• Alcohol Related (DUI) crimes : felony DUI (4th time in 10 years), DUI with injury, vehicular manslaughter, injury causing great bodily injury.

• Violent offenses such as domestic violence, battery with great bodily injury, terrorists threats, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and murder.

• Serious and violent crimes , such as mayhem, manslaughter, kidnapping, arson, grand theft involving a firearm, and homicide .

California’s Three Strikes law carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life for the third felony conviction. Most strikes are considered serious or violent offenses. A person that has one strike conviction will automatically be facing a doubled sentenced. If that person has two previous strike convictions, then the defendant is facing a life sentence. Facing a strike conviction or a case that alleges a strike prior is serious and it is important to contact a criminal defense attorney skilled in three strikes cases to help you defend the criminal case.

If you have a previous conviction(s) of a felony strike, seeking a criminal defense attorney that understand the complexities of strike charges and punishments is essential. At the Law Office of Glen T. Neal, our criminal lawyer has extensive knowledge with strike offenses. After retaining our criminal defense attorney to represent you, our dedicated criminal lawyer will negotiate with the prosecutors and the judge in order to have the strike enhancements reduced or even dropped in order to prevent the imposition of an additional punishment.

Some crimes are considered wobbler offenses. When a case is a wobbler, the district attorney has the discretion to prosecute the case as a felony or a misdemeanor case. For example, criminal cases like assault, DUI with injuries, hit and run, drug possession, domestic violence, terrorist threats, theft, vandalism, battery are wobblers.

Crimes that can be either felonies or misdemeanors can also be reduced to the misdemeanor charge by the judge or district attorney depending on the circumstances of the case. A skilled criminal defense attorney can effectively argue for a misdemeanor if the criminal attorney can show the judge mitigating factors of favor of the criminal defendant or the how the crime is not egregious.

If you are charged with a wobbler offense, it is important to contact a criminal lawyer that can explain to you the different types of charges that are wobblers in order to obtain a reduction to a misdemeanor. Even if a reduction is not possible when you are sentenced, a dedicated criminal lawyer can request these charges be reduced to a misdemeanor during or after probation. It is important that a criminal attorney request a reduction because the court will not automatically reduce the charge. Therefore, the need for an experienced and effective criminal lawyer is necessary to obtain the appropriate relief for your criminal case.