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Penal Code section 17 defines the terms " felony " and "misdemeanor." Subdivision (a) of that section reads: "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."
Subdivision (b) of section 17 acknowledges that some offenses are "punishable, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail." These offenses may be either felonies or misdemeanors. They are known as alternative felony-misdemeanors or, more informally, as wobblers.
Subdivision (b) of Penal Code section 17 specifies the circumstances under which a wobbler becomes a misdemeanor: (1) when the court imposes a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison; (2) when the court designates the offense to be a misdemeanor upon committing the defendant to the Youth Authority; (3) when the court designates the offense to be a misdemeanor upon granting probation without imposition of sentence; (4) when a complaint charging the offense specifies that it is a misdemeanor; and (5) when the magistrate declares the offense to be a misdemeanor at or before the preliminary examination or before filing an order holding the defendant to answer under Penal Code section 872.
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