Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

A johnson waiver enables the court to reinstate a defendant on probation after he or she has violated probation once or more than once. It is conditional upon two things. First, the defendant must serve additional county jail time but that is instead of a state prison sentence being imposed and they must agree and sign a waiver that states they are knowingly and intelligently waiving any good time custody credits they have earned. So it only applies to someone who has violated probation. CPC 237(a) if regarding false imprisonment which is defined as the unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another. 237(a) states the punishment can be either a fine or jail time or both. However it also provides that if the false imprisonment was accomplished by violence, menace, fraud or deceit then it shall be punishable by state prison time.

How it applies in the situation you are dealing with is impossible to guess at since you have provided no facts. If you or someone you know is dealing with such a situation an attorney is needed immediately.

Good luck

Brian McGinity

This communication has not created an attorney client relationship between the parties and there is no attorney client privilege between the parties. The information is based upon the general principles of law and is not and should not be considered legal advice. It is impossible to give accurate information in this type of open and public forum.

I didn't agree with the previous answer, but as Mr. McGinty pointed out, you don't provide any factual background to understand what you refer to. In my experience, a Johnson waiver (People v. Johnson (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 183) involves the defendant's waiver of credits for time already served, and any additional custody credits. Thus, for example if the defendant had already served 90 days in jail during the pending criminal case, and the sentence was 90 days, contingent on a Johnson waiver, the defendant would have to serve another 90 days jail, and would not get any credit for the time already served.