When accused of a felony, you will be looking at hefty fines and a lengthy prison term upon a conviction. But before it comes to that, you are allowed to defend yourself, prove your innocence and seek to have your charges dismissed before trial. Charge dismissals do not come easy, especially felony charges. No criminal defense attorney can guarantee a charge dismissal. However, no two cases are the same, and prosecutors do not have an option but dismiss some charges. Likewise, a judge may find that your legal rights were violated and dismiss your case. So how do you have the judge or prosecutor dismiss your charges?
The Primary Way of Having Your Felony Charges Dismissed is By Filing a Dismissal Motion Under PC 995
In California’s criminal process, a Penal Code 995 motion gives you the choice of requesting the trial judge to drop your felony criminal charges after your preliminary hearing, during which you have to respond to the criminal accusations against you. Simply put, this is a motion seeking a dismissal of criminal charges. It is brought after the preliminary hearing for felony cases.
Generally, when the prosecutor files felony charges against you, the jury may indict you, or you may be subject to a preliminary hearing during which a judge establishes whether there is sufficient evidence or probable cause that a felony was committed and you committed it. If the preliminary court judge finds you committed the crime, you will be held and be presented before the court for trial. At this point, your lawyer may file a motion under PC 995 to dismiss your charges. This motion seeks the trial court judge to drop part or all of the criminal charges against you. It applies where all counts are for felony offenses or include misdemeanor and felony charges. You cannot use it on purely misdemeanor charges because if they are not felony charges, the court will not conduct a preliminary hearing.
You can also file this motion to challenge special circumstances claims and a sentence enhancement request by the prosecutor. The motion depends on the transcript from your preliminary hearing. As we mentioned, this is the hearing where the judge decides whether there is probable cause to every fact of the crime in question or if special circumstances or enhancements exist. All charges, including special circumstances and sentence enhancements, have to be supported by facts. The judge presiding over your preliminary hearing must determine whether or not the facts are compelling enough to warrant a court trial.
If you believe the judge presiding over your preliminary hearing erroneously permitted your case to go to trial, you can file a Penal Code 995 motion to dismiss. This requests the trial court judge re-evaluate the decision of the preliminary hearing judge. That is, it is an appeal of the preliminary hearing judge's decision to set the case for trial, and it is often referred to as a 'motion to set aside information.' Generally, the trial court judge will agree to your request if they determine there were not enough legal bases to take your case to trial.
When It Is Appropriate
There are many situations where a Penal Code 995 motion to dismiss is appropriate. But the most prevalent circumstances include Illegal commitment for trial and commitment without probable cause.
Commitment With No Probable Cause
Per the United States Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, a judge must have probable cause to try a defendant for an offense. This means a judge will only try your case if the charges are fact-supported. These facts need not show that you are guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. Whether or not you are guilty beyond any reasonable doubt is a matter decided by the judge or jury. However, the facts should be adequate that any rational individual could have a strong and honest suspicion that you are indeed criminally liable for the charges against you.
Illegal Commitment for Trial
You are illegally committed if you are denied a significant legal right during your preliminary hearing, including but without limitation, the legal right to:
- Legal representation
- Advice that you can have legal representation
- Have your preliminary hearing held in one session
- Cross-examine and present witnessed during the hearing
Illegal commitment and commitment with no probable cause can manifest in many situations. The most prevalent of these situations include, without limitation:
- Procedural errors or missed deadlines— the prosecution has only 15 days from the date of your preliminary hearing to file the trial complaint (the information) against you. The trial complaint charges you with the counts seen to have probable cause to try you. If it does not file the complaint within fifteen days after the hearing, the judge presiding over your trial should grant your PC 995 motion.
- Failure to provide exculpatory proof or any other discovery— the Fourth Amendment Due Process Clause dictates that the prosecution must disclose all evidence favoring the accused. If it willfully fails to do so, the criminal charges ought to be dismissed.
- A Fatal finding of facts— at times, the preliminary hearing judge makes a factual finding that is inclined to indicate the accused's innocence. An illustration is a finding that the key eyewitness lacked credibility or that the testimony was too incredible for a reasonable individual to believe. For example, an eyewitness may have failed to sufficiently identify the accused due to the distance from where the crime occurred and poor lighting. Or, the eyewitness may only have testified that the accused resembled the culprit. If that is the only proof supporting a criminal charge, the judge presiding over your preliminary hearing should not send the case to the trial court. If they do, it is a mistake. The trial court judge should agree to the PC 995 motion to dismiss.
- Insufficient proof— the prosecutor should submit facts that support all the elements of your crime, including:
- The basis for a finding of special circumstances
- Any grounds for a sentence increment
- All the elements of any misdemeanor charge
- All the facts of every felony charge
For instance, the prosecutor must demonstrate probable cause that you specifically intended to commit an offense and enough evidence of a component of the criminal offense in question. For instance, evidence that the stolen property was worth at least nine hundred and fifty dollars to accuse you of grand theft.
- Illegal evidence— the police should not acquire proof of an offense by breaking the state and federal laws on search and seizure. If any evidence or testimony in your case was obtained through an unlawful search, the trial court judge must grant your motion to dismiss. For instance, the preliminary judge should dismiss your drug possession case if the police entered your home with no valid warrant and found drugs, and the only proof of you possessing illegal drugs is from the unlawfully searched property. Should the judge incorrectly allow it to proceed to trial, your lawyer can bring a PC 995 motion.
- The preliminary hearing did not happen in one session— whereas many preliminary hearings are completed in one hour or less, some cases have more than one count, or the charges are intricate in that the hearing may last several days. ‘One session’ does not imply a single day or week. If your hearing must be prolonged over a given period, the judge presiding over your preliminary hearing must prioritize the hearing. If they put the hearing off to hold a one-week trial, for instance, you can seek a charge dismissal for the judge violating your procedural due process right.
The Procedure for a PC 995 Motion
Generally, a motion to dismiss under PC 995 is virtually always filed in trial courts with a different judge from the one who conducted the felony preliminary hearing and before any other pre-trial proceedings. Although this is legally unnecessary, this process is preferred over letting the judge who conducted the preliminary hearing hear a PC 995 motion.
This lets the PC 995 motion process check your preliminary hearing, with fresh people re-assessing the charges for apparent mistakes. However, note that the trial court that hears the 985 motion is not evaluating your preliminary hearing record as though it had heard the hearing itself. The trial court will afford all sensible inferences favoring the determination of the preliminary hearing judge.
However, there are rare instances where the trial court determines that the proof presented during the preliminary hearing was inadequate and the judge made a mistake in committing the accused for trial. This establishment would lead to the trial court judge vacating the complaint and dismissing the charges entirely.
The PC 995 motion hearing does not last long— usually not more than an hour. Your lawyer presents their arguments first, followed by the prosecution. Your lawyer will then be allowed to make closing arguments. The judge usually issues their decision soon after the end of the arguments. However, they may sometimes continue with the case to further consider the presented statements.
PC 995 Chance to Have Your Criminal Charges Dismissed
Therefore, through the PC 995 vehicle, defendants have the chance of having a judge dismiss their charges entirely without risking a trial by the jury. This is unique in the state's criminal process.
Should the trial judge grant your motion under PC 995, they will dismiss the charges against you. However, the DA may appeal the judge's decision. Pending the resolution of the appeal, the prosecution can:
- Choose to continue with a bench or jury trial on the remaining counts.
- Seek a continuance of the trial until the resolution of the appeal.
Alternatively, the prosecution may skip the appealing process and go ahead to refile charges on the dismissed counts except if factual findings were clearly made, which should have been detrimental to your case. If those counts are dismissed again, the prosecutor is prohibited from re-filing them for the third time.
If the charges against you are dismissed following a PC 995 motion, and you had paid bail, the court should either refund your bail amount within fifteen days or allocate the amount to your new charge if the DA refiles charges.
If the trial judge denies your motion, you could also appeal their decision. If your motion is based on a commitment without probable cause, you would have fifteen days to appeal the judge's ruling, and if it is for an unlawful commitment, you would have sixty days from your arraignment to appeal. If you do not file the appeal or lose the appeal, your case will go to trial.
There Are Also Other Ways to Have Your Felony Charges Dismissed
There are also other ways you can have your felony charges dismissed. These include:
Pre-Trial Diversion Programs
Some crimes, especially those involving domestic violence, drugs, or DUI, can be diverted into pre-trial rehabilitation services. Whereas diversion program terms and conditions vary, they usually involve the accused entering a guilty plea, receiving a suspended sentence, and enrolling in the program. If you complete the program, the prosecutor will drop the charges against you. Most pre-trial diversion programs have strict requirements for eligibility. If you have any criminal record, you might not qualify. You also want to talk to your attorney before entering a pretrial diversion program. Should you fail to complete the program, your case can be sent back to court, having already pled guilty to the charges.
Agree to a Plea Deal
You can have your felony charges dismissed by accepting the prosecution's plea deal that involves pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges instead. Plea deals are often an option when the DA is uncertain if they can substantiate their case. However, before pleading guilty to a misdemeanor to have your felony charges dismissed, you need to be advised by your lawyer because as much as doing so has advantages, it also has disadvantages.
The advantages to this plea deal include lower fines, fewer immigration problems, less possible incarceration period, less harsh probation terms, a higher chance of criminal record expungement, and less severe collateral consequences. The disadvantages include:
- An automatic criminal conviction,
- You will not defend against what might have been a weak case, and
- Waiving legal defenses that might have resulted in an acquittal at trial.
You need to make an informed decision about whether you should agree to the plea deal. Your lawyer can give you the insight you need to make the correct choice.
Cooperate with the Prosecution on a Different Case
You may have the chance to have your felony charges dismissed in exchange for your help. This could entail:
- Flipping on your co-defendant
- Testifying against another person in another case
- Cooperating with the police in collecting proof against a criminal associate
The D.A will only dismiss the charges against you if you have proof they can use against another person. This means this strategy is uncommon. The negotiations leading to this kind of arrangement can be extremely sensitive. If conducted correctly, you can have your charges dismissed and ensure you are protected after helping the prosecutor.
Deferred Entry of Judgment
California authorizes courts to form deferred entry of judgment programs. If yours is a nonviolent felony, you may qualify for this program. Deferred entry of judgment programs resembles pretrial diversion. You have to enter a guilty plea to enroll in the program. If you finish the program, the court will dismiss your charges. But if you do not finish, the court will sentence you depending on the charges against you.
Motion to Suppress Evidence
If the law enforcement officers violated your constitutional rights when investigating you, your lawyer could bring a motion to suppress the evidence. The judge might then exclude the proof the police gathered. Without the evidence, the prosecution may be forced to dismiss your felony charges for lack of sufficient proof to sustain a conviction or reduce them to a misdemeanor offense. The court may also suppress evidence for several reasons, including coerced confession and illegal search.
Find a Skilled Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
If you have been accused of a felony offense, have undergone a preliminary hearing, and your case is moved forward to the trial court, you want to consult with a knowledgeable defense attorney about your eligibility for a PC 995 motion to dismiss. Even if your request is eventually denied, filing it puts the prosecution and court on notice of the critical matters in your case and can usually influence a more favorable outcome for your case. Effective litigation during the PC 995 motion hearing is essential in attaining the best possible outcome in a felony criminal prosecution.
At Leah Legal, we will help you review your case and determine whether you are eligible for a PC 995 motion. Not only that. We will also help you file this motion and argue it aggressively to ensure we obtain you the most favorable results. If you do not qualify for the motion, we will use other avenues to seek your charges to be dismissed. We will be by your side throughout the criminal process for your case, giving you the legal advice and assistance you deserve. Call our experienced Van Nuys criminal defense lawyer at 818-484-1100 to schedule a consultation if charged with a crime in Van Nuys, CA.