Q: Will the judge change my charge from a misdemeanor to a felony for not accepting the plea deal?
I got a DUI a couple months back, and the judge gave me a plea deal which would make my charge a misdemeanor. Whenever I got the DUI, I didn’t have my license at the time. I did not know that I had to have a clean drug test to the court before a month in advanced, and there was still marijuana in my system. So they are taking me to trial, and I was wondering if they would change the charge from misdemeanor to a felony.
A: The judge does not make charging decisions or downgrade or upgrade charges. That is up to the prosecutor. Since it sounds like you violated the terms of the plea, all bets are off. They can if they wish upgrade it but are not required to do so. You should find a private lawyer or if you cannot afford one, ask for a public defender.
Juan Ooink agrees with this answer
A: What? Your scenario does not make any sense. You need to discuss all of this with your attorney, which I am assuming you have since you had some sort of plea deal. If you do not have an attorney, you need to hire one right away.
A:
It sounds like you have a lawyer. You need to be asking your lawyer these questions and working with your lawyer.
Prosecutors have near absolute control over what the charge is. Not the judge. I have had many a client ask me to ask the judge to force the State to reduce a charge to a lesser offense. The judge can't do that. That's not one of the powers a judge has.
If I am mistaken, and you don't have a lawyer, get one fast.
Juan Ooink agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
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