Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Depends on who you mean by "someone." If the someone is the district attorney, you walk. Otherwise you'll need to retain an attorney and have the attorney persuade the court to find you "not guilty" or to dismiss the charges.

If the "someone" is the alleged burglary victim, and they don't show up when subpoenaed into court, or they have an attack of forgetfulness on the witness stand, and there's no other evidence, you'll also walk. (Don't suggest this to the person or you'll get a new charge of witness tampering or obstruction of justice.)

If you are charged, the attorney you retain will be able to review the evidence and discuss possible strategies with you.

The fact that the alleged victim of a burglary, or any charge for that matter, does not want to prosecute, is of NO legal concern to the District Attorney's Office. As a criminal law specialist and a Former Deputy District Attorney, I'm always glad to have an alleged victim on my side, that doesn't mean the case is over. I still have to put up a vigorous defense to get the charges dropped. Contact a qualified attorney and seek good legal counsel. I wish you the best ....... David Wallin

In California, the complaining person or victim does not have the discretion to drop charges. That decision is made by the prosecutor. In that situation, the prosecutor must make a motion with the court to dismiss (which can be oral) and the judge has the discretion to deny and allow the case to go forward.