California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Bailey, E053496 (Cal. App. 2012):
A trial court may exercise "its discretion pursuant to section 17, subdivision (b), to treat as a misdemeanor a 'wobbler' offense charged as a felony. [Citation.] Relevant factors include the nature and circumstances of the offense; the defendant's appreciation of and attitude toward the offense; his character, as evidenced by his behavior and demeanor at the trial; and the defendant's criminal history. [Citation.]" (People v. Smith (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 1051, 1062.) "The trial court's decision is reviewed deferentially. [Citation.] The 'trial court does not abuse its discretion unless its decision is so irrational or arbitrary that no reasonable person could agree with it.' [Citation.]" (Ibid.)
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At the hearing, the trial court stated, in regard to defendant's written motion, "I have seen it, I've read it, and I've considered it." The trial court then explained defendant's criminal history was the factor preventing the offense from being reduced to a misdemeanor. The trial court's statement does not reflect it only considered one factor; rather, the trial court stated that it considered the motion, which went through a variety of mitigating issues, but ultimately decided to retain the felony status of the offense, due to defendant's criminal history. (See People v. Myers (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 305, 310 ["The fact that the court focused its explanatory comments on the violence and potential violence of appellant's crimes does not mean that it considered only that factor."].) Since the trial court considered the motion, and appeared to rely on proper factors, such as criminal history, when ruling on the motion, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion.
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