{"id":2806,"date":"2013-01-22T23:03:33","date_gmt":"2013-01-22T23:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/exceptions-977a-when-defendant-must-appear-on-california-misdemeanor-charge\/"},"modified":"2020-10-30T20:48:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T20:48:01","slug":"exceptions-977a-when-defendant-must-appear-on-california-misdemeanor-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/exceptions-977a-when-defendant-must-appear-on-california-misdemeanor-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Exceptions to 977(a): When a Defendant must appear on a California Misdemeanor charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Southern<\/a>Penal Code 977(a) outlines the familiar rule that attorneys love to use for a California misdemeanor charge. \u00a0 Where the accused is charged in California criminal court with up to a misdemeanor only, the defendant may appear by counsel only. Attorneys favor this for a verity of reasons, no waiting on or being rushed by clients at the time of the hearing, and it allows clients to maintain their normal day rather than dealing with the hassle of attending a court hearing during the business work day.<\/p>\n


\n<\/a>Many attorneys are not aware or pay attention to later sections of this favored California rule which outline the exceptions located in 977(a)(2) and 977(a)(3). If any of the below exceptions apply, the defendant must<\/strong> be present with counsel.<\/p>\n

977(a)(2)<\/strong>: Is an exception where the defendant is charged with a California misdemeanor<\/span>\u00a0charge involving either:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Domestic Violence\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 OR<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Violating a Criminal or Civil Restraining Order<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The court is concerned that the defendant will not be properly informed of the conditions and penalties of violating a California protective order issued pursuant to PC \u00a7 136.2 as its reasoning.<\/p>\n

    977(a)(3)<\/strong>: Is the second exception, California misdemeanor charge<\/span>\u00a0that involve various charges of driving under the influence (DUI). These offenses include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Any California DUI misdemeanor charge involving vehicular manslaughter.<\/li>\n
    2. Any California DUI misdemeanor charge that causes bodily injury to a third party.<\/li>\n
    3. Any reduction of a California DUI guilty plea, better known as a \u201cwet reckless.\u201d<\/li>\n
    4. Driving a personal<\/em> vehicle with a blood alcohol level over 0.08 in California.<\/li>\n
    5. Driving a commercial<\/em> vehicle with a blood alcohol level over 0.04 in California.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Overall, deciding how to handle your Criminal case depends on your individual circumstances so it\u2019s imperative you contact an\u00a0experienced attorney\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0to assist your needs.\u00a0 If you require representation on the above or any other criminal matter, feel free to reach me directly at The Law Offices of Mark A. Gallagher: (800) 797 \u2013 8406 and email: lance.socaldefense@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Penal Code 977(a) outlines the familiar rule that attorneys love to use for a California misdemeanor charge. \u00a0 Where the accused is charged in California criminal court with up to a misdemeanor only, the defendant may appear by counsel only. Attorneys favor this for a verity of reasons, no waiting on or being rushed by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,5,126,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california-criminal-law-blog","category-california-dui-law-blog","category-california-restraining-order-blog","category-california-traffic-ticket-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5478,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions\/5478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}