Statum

Defendant Russell Hubert Statum was convicted of violating Vehicle Code section 2800.2, an alternative felony/misdemeanor offense. An alternative felony/misdemeanor, also known as a “wobbler,” is deemed a felony unless charged as a misdemeanor by the People or reduced to a misdemeanor by the sentencing court under Penal Code section 17, subdivision (b). (In re Jorge M. (2000) 23 Cal.4th 866, 880 [ 98 Cal.Rptr.2d 466 , 4 P.3d 297 ].) The sentencing court here, over the People’s objections, reduced the conviction to a misdemeanor and imposed a county jail term. The People appealed, asserting that the superior court had abused its discretion. May the People appeal the superior court’s decision to sentence defendant as a misdemeanant? We find that the appeal is authorized by Penal Code section 1238, subdivision (a)(6), 1 and therefore reverse the Court of Appeal, which had dismissed the People’s appeal.

I

Background

The evidence at the preliminary hearing showed the following: Around 7:00 p.m. on September 26, 1999, an unidentified woman flagged down Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Garrida in the area of 103 d Street and Western Avenue to report that her purse had…

The majority holds that a superior court judgment imposing a misdemeanor sentence for a “wobbler” offense is “[a]n order . . . modifying the offense to a lesser offense” (Pen. Code, § 1238, subd. (a)(6)) and thus an order from which the People may appeal. I disagree. The sentence imposed on a wobbler determines the grade or class of the crime as either a felony or a misdemeanor, but the sentence imposed does not change the nature or identity of the offense and so does not modify the offense to a lesser offense. Therefore, I would hold that the People may not appeal from a judgment imposing a misdemeanor sentence on a wobbler.

*698 Penal Code section 17 defines the terms “felony” and “misdemeanor.” Subdivision (a) of that section reads: “A felony is a crime which is punishable with death or by imprisonment in the state prison. Every other crime or public offense is a misdemeanor except those offenses that are classified as infractions.” Subdivision (b) of section 17 acknowledges that some offenses are “punishable, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail.” These offenses may be either felonies or…

Defendant Russell Hubert Statum was convicted of violating Vehicle Code section 2800.2, an alternative felony/misdemeanor offense. An alternative felony/misdemeanor, also known as a "wobbler," is deemed a felony unless charged as a misdemeanor by the People or reduced to a misdemeanor by the sentencing court under Penal Code section 17, subdivision (b). ( In re Jorge M. (2000) 23 Cal.4th 866, 880 , 98 Cal.Rptr.2d 466 , 4 P.3d 297 .) The sentencing court here, over the People's objections, reduced the conviction to a misdemeanor and imposed a county jail term. The People appealed, asserting that the superior court had abused its discretion. May the People appeal the superior court's decision to sentence defendant as a misdemeanant? We find that the appeal is authorized by Penal Code section 1238, subdivision (a)(6), [1] and therefore reverse the Court of Appeal, which had dismissed the People's appeal.

The evidence at the preliminary hearing showed the following: Around 7:00 p.m. on September 26, 1999, an unidentified woman flagged down Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Garrida in the area of 103d Street and Western Avenue to report that her purse had been…