Felony Reduced to Misdemeanor & Sentence Reduced to 6 Months

In P. v. J.H., the defendant in a road rage incident was specifically accused of making terrorist threats while brandishing a handgun at the driver of another vehicle, his wife, and his young child.  Although he was a young man with no criminal record, he was facing two felony counts that would have counted as strikes under California’s sentencing laws and many years in state prison.  Through patient but persistent negotiation, Attorney Dudley finally convinced the district attorney to allow his client to plead no contest to a non-strike felony that would be reduced to a misdemeanor upon the defendant’s successful completion of probation.  Under that disposition, his client was sentenced to a time-served sentence of only six months.