Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Possibility of a Marijuana sale conviction?

First, you are the seller, right? Or the seller's girlfriend? If not, I'd be curious to know what potential employer extracted that confession out of a potential hire, despite the lack of any arrest. You might try working for the State Department.

Seriously, though, yes, charges could be brought against either the seller or buyer for quite some time, depending on the charge. I hope you don't get arrested. (Worried about an informant?) If you haven't been arrested by now, you probably won't, unless they are conducting a surveillance. So definitely lay low for a few months-- don't do anything illegal in case you are being surveilled. And if you do get arrested, feel free to call me. 800-515-0233.

Re: Possibility of a Marijuana sale conviction?

Of course there is risk of arrest, the other person could turn informant, or it could have been a sting.

Re: Possibility of a Marijuana sale conviction?

Thank you for your inquiry. The statute of limitations here is potentially complicated, so bear with me here.

Misdemeanor criminal violations (in which the maximum penalty is one year in the county jail, plus designated fines) must be filed within one year of the commission of the violation. Felony violations (in which imprisonment in state prison is possible) must be filed within three years of the violation. (Penal Code, �� 801; 802, subd. (a).) However, felony statutes of limitations apply to crimes defined as "wobblers," notwithstanding that initial felony charge is later reduced to a misdemeanor. (People v. Superior Court (Ongley) (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d, 165, 168; Penal Code, � 805.) Moreover, the California Supreme Court has held that, in criminal cases, the statute of limitations is jurisdictional; therefore, it cannot be waived by mutual agreement. (People v. McGee (1934) 1 Cal.2d 611, 613-614; People v. Brice (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 111, 114.)

Most statutes of limitation begin to run on the date of the commission of the offense. However, for some violations the statute does not begin to run until the offense is "discovered" by an appropriate regulatory or law enforcement agency, or the date when such violations could reasonably have been discovered.

Possession for sale is typically a felony, but it depends on what the prosecution decides to charge, and to a certain extent, depends on the evidence and the quantity alleged.

This means that for a felony possession for sales, the prosecutors could file charges as a felony anytime before three years expires. As a misdemeanor, there is no possibility of prosecution after one year.

I hope this helps, but if you have other questions, or need more information, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. I'm happy to help in any way that I can.