Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: california penal code 273a (b)

Almost any offense is 'bailable' unless otherwise ordered by the judge.

Conviction of any crime will result in jail time. This one would easily result in loss of custody as well.

Re: california penal code 273a (b)

As I understand the facts of your question the Police arrested your friend for violating Penal code 273a(a) and the bail amount was 100K. I am assuming this is before he was arraigned. The way the system works is that the Police make arrests based on what they consider to be Probable Cause that a violation has been committed. Here they arrested your friend for violating Penal Code 273a(a). This is a violation which can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor. Since the bail amount is 100K it appears to be a felony charge. However that does not mean the DA will charge it that way. They may drop the charge to a misdemeanor or charge the crime differently. You will find that information out at the arraignment. At that time if your friend can not afford an attorney the court will appoint a Public Defender. After the arraignment and the actual charges are known the bail amount will be adjusted, if there was a change in the charges. There is generally a bail schedule listed on the court's web site and you can review that yourself using the internet. Now you stated the charges are either being changed or they were supposed to be changed or something where you thought the violation was going to be charged as a misdemeanor under 273a(b). If that occurs the bail will be lowered. Both 273a(a) & 273a(b) are bailable offenses. Also 273a(a) can be charged as a misdemeanor and not only as a felony.

If your friend is convicted CPS will probably get involved and depending on the circumstances will conduct an investigation and make a determination regarding the children. Whether he losses his children or not depends on what happen. If convicted of either violation your friend could face jail time. 273a(a) carries a possible jail time not to exceed one year in county jail or if convicted of a felony the incarceration could be State Prison for two, four or six years. If convicted under 273a(b) he could still receive jail time. He could also be placed on probation immediately and as long as he follows the terms of his probation he could avoid jail time. It all depends on the circumstances. Your friends needs a good criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. If you do not know of any attorneys you can contact your local bar association and ask for the referral list. Please feel free to contact my office if you are looking for an attorney.

Re: california penal code 273a (b)

If the police have a choice to arrest for a felony or a misdemeanor, they always choose the felony, thus the high bail. The bail will be set at arraignment and since only a misdemeanor was charged, it should be less. You should then be able to post bail.

As to jail time - it depends on the facts, but if convited, you can count on CPS involvement and mandatory counseling, among other terms. Your friend needs a good criminal defense attorney to help with the best outcome.