What is a Wobbler?

Under California Law, a criminal offense that might be charged and punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony is known as a “wobbler.” If you were convicted of a felony and were sentenced to serve a term in county jail under California’s Realignment Act as opposed to serving a state prison term, your offense is considered a “wobbler.” A wobbler is any offense that could be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. How a crime is charged can depend upon factors like prior convictions, but charging is also at the discretion of prosecutors. An offense is punishable by a fine or time in the county jail (misdemeanor sentences) OR time in state prison or “imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 (felony sentence), your offense is considered a wobbler.

What code sections list offenses for wobblers?

Many offenses in California are considered wobblers, and while most of them are listed in California’s Penal Code, they are also found in some of the other codes like the Health and Safety Code, the Business and Professions Code, the Vehicle Code, the Family Law Code, and the Commercial Code.

Is it a felony or a misdemeanor?

Prosecutors have the choice of whether to charge a wobbler as a felony or a misdemeanor. Even if the prosecutor chooses one over the other, the judge makes the final determination as to whether the conviction is a felony or a misdemeanor. A prosecutor will typically file wobblers as a felony unless the alleged offender does not have a criminal history or there are additional facts and circumstances dictating the prosecutor’s decision to charge a misdemeanor.

Whether you are charged and convicted of a wobbler offense as either a misdemeanor or felony will dictate whether they have the potential to get the conviction expunged. If you have completed your probation sentence for a misdemeanor offense, you might be eligible to petition the court for an expungement or dismissal of their conviction. A felony conviction is generally not eligible for an expungement, but if the offense was a wobbler, it is possible to petition the court to reduce the felony conviction to a misdemeanor. Felony “wobblers” are eligible for reduction and ultimately expungement if:

• You were sentenced to county jail time and not prison time for the offence
• You were not sent to prison for a probation violation for the offense.
• You were not convicted of an offense that is excluded and not eligible for expungement.
• Otherwise you meet the requirement for expungement.

What Felonies cannot be reduced to misdemeanors?

Felonies that CANNOT be reduced to misdemeanors are not eligible for expungements. If you were sentenced to state prison OR sentenced to county jail for a straight felony under Realignment—even if the judge suspended your sentence so you never spent any time in custody—your conviction is NOT eligible to be reduced to a misdemeanor.