Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

When a defendant is charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon under penal code section 245(a)(1), they are facing a �strike� under California�s Three Strikes law. Assault with a Deadly Weapon can be charged as either a strike felony or it can be charged as a misdemeanor.

You told us that you plead guilty to two charges of assault with a deadly weapon in 1998. Pleading guilty is the same as being convicted. But you did not tell us your sentence for those charges, or whether they were charged as misdemeanors. If it was charged as a misdemeanor, then it is not a strike. Mr. Dane and I assumed those were charged as a felony.

If a deadly weapon is used in the assault, then the offense is a strike whether great bodily injury was sustained or not. If a person sustains a felony conviction under this section for using a deadly weapon in the commission of the assault, then the conviction will be considered a serious felony under Penal Code section 1192.7(c) and a �strike.�

Maybe you should repost with more factual detail on all of the priors.