Is a conviction of petty theft a felony or a misdemeanor?

As mentioned earlier, I do not disagree with the majority's position that whether a crime of which one is convicted is a felony or a misdemeanor is a question of law to be decided by the trial court. And, of course, the trial court may properly instruct the jury on the law. Thus, the trial court here could have instructed the jury that (1) a conviction of petty theft with a prior which is punished with a state prison sentence, even if initially execution of the sentence was "suspended" and defendant was given probation, is the conviction of a felony, (2) a conviction of petty theft with a prior which is punished with a county jail sentence is the conviction of a misdemeanor, and (3) a conviction of petty theft is a misdemeanor. (See, e.g., People v. Perry (1974) 42 Cal.App.3d 451, 454, 116 Cal.Rptr. 853, superseded by statute on another ground as stated in People v. Levell (1988) 201 Cal.App.3d 749, 247 Cal.Rptr. 489.)