The basic requirements for this reduction are as follows:

 

(1)    The conviction must be for an alternative felony-misdemeanor, or “wobbler,” i.e., a crime for which the statute defining offense specifies a punishment of state prison with an additional alternative of county jail or a fine.  See § 9.18, infra. 

 

(2)    The sentencing court must grant probation without imposition of sentence.  See § 9.19, infra. 

 

(3)    The judge must then or thereafter declare the offense to be a misdemeanor.  See § 9.22, infra. 

Lower Courts of Ninth Circuit

CAL POST CON-MOTION TO REDUCE-BASIC REQUIREMENTS
People v. Superior Court (Jalalipour), ___ Cal.App.5th ___, 2015 WL 82936 (4th Dist. Jan. 7, 2015) (granting petition for a writ of mandate, directing trial court to vacate its ruling reducing felony charges to misdemeanors, since prosecution had not consented to the reduction; the establishment of the defendant's guilt, whether by plea or trial, must precede a court's reduction of a wobbler to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b)(3); absent the Peoples consent, the court's reduction of the charged felonies to misdemeanors, and then allowing defendant to plea guilty to the misdemeanors, constituted an unlawful judicial plea bargain). Cal Crim Def 20.64