Placer Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
What You Need to Know About Prop 47
On November 4, 2014, California voters passed the Prop 47 ballot initiative, which reduced certain felonies to misdemeanors. This includes some drug possession charges, as well as petty theft, receiving stolen property, and writing bad checks when the amount is less than $950.
Who is Affected by Prop 47?
There are two major ways that this new law may affect you or someone you love.
First, if you are serving time for a felony conviction for any of the above crimes, you can petition the court to be resentenced as a misdemeanor. Second, if you have completed your sentence, you can appeal to the court to have your felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor.
Under Prop 47, the court is required to resentence these convictions unless they find an unreasonable risk to public safety. You must file with the court that sentenced you by November 4, 2017. Once filed, the court will determine whether or not you are eligible based on your criminal defense history.
Who is Not Affected by Prop 47?
Even if your conviction falls under the above categories, there are certain circumstances that may exclude you from being able to petition the court for resentencing. You cannot petition the court if you have previous convictions for sex offenses including rape, child molestation or other sex offenses, murder, attempted murder, solicitation to commit murder, assault with a machine gun on an officer, or any other serious or violent crime that is punishable with a life sentence or death.
If you believe that you are affected by Prop 47, give me a call at (530) 823-5400 to confidentially discuss your case. For more than 25 years, I have handled thousands of cases in Placer County and I’m here to help you get your life back on track.