Juvenile Offenses Qualify for Prop 47 Reclassification from Felony to Misdemeanor

The District Attorney in San Diego County had contended that Proposition 47 reclassification from a felony to a misdemeanor did not apply to juvenile offenses because a "conviction" was required and juvenile offenders received a disposition, not a conviction. A new test case out of San Diego, where the trial court agreed with the District Attorney’s Office and did not reclassify the juvenile offender’s theft crime to a misdemeanor, put this argument to rest.

In that case, the juvenile sought a writ of mandate in the court of appeal. In Alexandro N. v. Superior Court (2015, __Cal.App.4th __, the Fourth District held that the offense reclassification provisions set forth in section 1170.18 apply to juveniles. Additionally, the court found that unless there was another reason to hold the juvenile’s DNA, his DNA sample and information must be removed from the state's data base.

Thus, this court case makes it clear that all those old juvenile cases qualify for reclassification under Proposition 47. If you or someone you know, had a juvenile case that involved one of the prior felonies that have been reclassified to a misdemeanor under Proposition 47, seek re-sentencing now.

On my Google plus web page, you can find, "Where to find help for Prop 47 re-sentencing in Los Angeles County, which lists organizations in Los Angeles that will provide free help if you qualify for their services.  Also, you can look at  June's "How to apply for Prop 47 in California to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor without a lawyer" at lametrocriminaldefense.blogspot.com for more information if you would like to prepare and file the Proposition 47 Petition yourself. 
　

copyright © 2015 Christine Esser

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