What happens if I am charged with a felony in California?
A felony is a serious crime punishable by at least a prison term of 16 months or more in a state prison. Depending on the circumstances of the offense, as well as other factors, a sentence for a felony conviction could range from formal probation with little or no jail time, to a state prison sentence of up to life in prison.
In California, most felonies are punishable under the “determinate sentencing laws.” This means that when someone is convicted of a felony offense and sentenced to prison, the judge may, in its own discretion, impose the low, middle or high term indicated by the particular offense.
The judge considers the seriousness of the crime, the criminal history of the defendant and other “mitigating” factors, such as whether you were the instigator of the crime, whether you were provoked or under duress, or whether the crime was partially excusable. In determining whether the sentence should be in the low, middle or high rage, the judge also considers “aggravating” factors, such as whether the crime involved great violence or great bodily harm, whether you used a gun or a weapon at the time of the crime, or whether the victim was particularly vulnerable at the time of the crime.
A felony expungement (i.e., the felony conviction being removed from your public criminal record) may be available to you if you are convicted of a felony, after you fulfilled the conditions of a probationary sentence, so long as you have not been convicted of a subsequent offense and were not ordered to serve a state prison sentence