Cal Pen Code § 17 (2004)
§ 17. "Felony," "misdemeanor," and
"infraction" distinguished; Reduction of misdemeanors to infractions
(a) A felony is a crime which is punishable with death or by
imprisonment in the state prison. Every other crime or public offense is a
misdemeanor except those offenses that are classified as infractions.
(b) When a crime is punishable, in the discretion of the
court, by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the
county jail, it is a misdemeanor for all purposes under the following
circumstances:
(1) After a judgment imposing a punishment other than
imprisonment in the state prison.
(2) When the court, upon committing the defendant to the
Youth Authority, designates the offense to be a misdemeanor.
(3) When the court grants probation to a defendant without
imposition of sentence and at the time of granting probation, or on application
of the defendant or probation officer thereafter, the court declares the
offense to be a misdemeanor.
(4) When the prosecuting attorney files in a court having
jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses a complaint specifying that the offense
is a misdemeanor, unless the defendant at the time of his or her arraignment or
plea objects to the offense being made a misdemeanor, in which event the
complaint shall be amended to charge the felony and the case shall proceed on
the felony complaint.
(5) When, at or before the preliminary examination or prior
to filing an order pursuant to Section 872, the magistrate determines that the
offense is a misdemeanor, in which event the case shall proceed as if the
defendant had been arraigned on a misdemeanor complaint.
(c) When a defendant is committed to the Youth Authority for
a crime punishable, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment in the
state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail, the offense shall,
upon the discharge of the defendant from the Youth Authority, thereafter be
deemed a misdemeanor for all purposes.
(d) A violation of any code section listed in Section 19.8 is
an infraction subject to the procedures described in Sections 19.6 and 19.7
when:
(1) The prosecutor files a complaint charging the offense as
an infraction unless the defendant, at the time he or she is arraigned, after
being informed of his or her rights, elects to have the case proceed as a
misdemeanor, or;
(2) The court, with the consent of the defendant, determines
that the offense is an infraction in which event the case shall proceed as if
the defendant had been arraigned on an infraction complaint.
(e) Nothing in this section authorizes a judge to relieve a
defendant of the duty to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section 290 if
the defendant is charged with an offense for which registration as a sex
offender is required pursuant to Section 290, and for which the trier of fact
has found the defendant guilty.