Bail law
What Is a Wobbler, and Why Does It Change the Bail?
The most important word on a booking sheet that nobody explains — because it decides whether this is a felony or a misdemeanour.
Families read a booking sheet, see the word “felony”, and assume the worst has already been decided. Very often it has not. A large share of California offences are wobblers — chargeable as either a felony or a misdemeanour — and that single distinction moves the bail figure more than almost anything else.
What the term means
A wobbler is an offence the law permits to be treated as either a felony or a misdemeanour. Penal Code 17 defines the classes of crime, and 17(b) provides the mechanisms by which a wobbler may be treated as a misdemeanour in defined circumstances. Some offences may also be treated as an infraction.
Who actually decides
- The arresting officer records a charge at booking. This is not the filing decision.
- The bail figure is computed from that booking charge using the county schedule, before anyone has evaluated the evidence.
- The prosecutor then decides independently, and may file a misdemeanour, a felony, something different, or nothing at all.
- The court has a role too, through the PC 17(b) mechanisms.
That sequence explains what families find hardest to accept: tonight’s bail figure can reflect a charge that is never filed. See understanding your release paperwork.
Why it changes the money so much
| Charged as a misdemeanour | Usually defaults to release on a written notice to appear under Penal Code 853.6 — no bail amount at all. See cite and release and misdemeanour bail. |
| Charged as a felony | A scheduled figure applies, enhancements stack, and a hearing may be required before release in serious cases under PC 1270.1. See felony bail. |
Wobblers you will meet on this site
Many charges we are called about are wobblers: receiving stolen property (PC 496), vehicle theft (VC 10851), grand theft (PC 487), assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245), resisting an executive officer (PC 69), false imprisonment, identity theft (PC 530.5), accessory after the fact (PC 32) and dissuading a witness (PC 136.1).
What this means practically
Do not treat the booking charge as a verdict. What it does control is tonight’s number — and if that number is out of reach, the answer is a lawyer arguing for a reduction rather than a larger premium. See bail reduction hearings and how to get a public defender.
Working out the amount, and what can change it
The figure comes from the countywide schedule Penal Code 1269b requires each county’s judges to adopt and revise annually. A judge may raise bail under 1269c, a hearing may be required in serious cases under 1270.1, and under In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135 a court must consider ability to pay before setting money bail that results in detention.
Local guides: Anaheim, Brea, La Habra, Fullerton, Buena Park, Yorba Linda and Tustin.
Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm. Nothing here is legal advice and we cannot predict how any case will be charged or resolved. California bail license 1841014.
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