Contra Costa County Serious Felony Lawyer

What is a Serious Felony Offense?

Any felony offense is serious but the term serious felony relates to offenses with enhanced terms and consequences upon conviction.  These offenses are specifically defined in the California Penal Code.

Penal Code Sections that Define Serious Felonies:

As specified in Penal Code (PC) Section 1192.7(c) and PC Section 1192.8 a serious felony is one of the offenses listed below.  

Risks of Serious Felony Convictions:

A serious felony conviction puts you at risk for a long prison term. The collateral consequences are also severe. These felonies can trigger a loss of guns rights, loss of your right to vote and the loss of the right to hold a professional license. They may count as strikes, prison priors, negatively impact your immigration status and permanently impair your ability to be employed.

Our Experience Defending Felony Cases:

Our criminal defense lawyers defend against serious felony offenses. We practice locally and statewide. We defend criminal cases in Walnut Creek, Martinez, Contra Costa County which are near our Lafayette office but we regularly appear and courts throughout California.

List of Serious Felonies:

The list of serious felony offenses are:

(1) Murder or voluntary manslaughter;

(2) mayhem;

(3) rape;

(4) sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, threat of great bodily injury, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person;

(5) oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, threat of great bodily injury, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person;

(6) lewd or lascivious act on a child under 14 years of age;

(7) any felony punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison for life;

(8) any felony in which the defendant personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice, or any felony in which the defendant personally uses a firearm;

(9) attempted murder; (See Jury Instruction for Attempted 187)

(10) assault with intent to commit rape or robbery; (11) assault with a deadly weapon or instrument on a peace officer; 

(12) assault by a life prisoner on a non-inmate;

(13) assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate;

(14) arson;

(15) exploding a destructive device or any explosive with intent to injure;

(16) exploding a destructive device or any explosive causing bodily injury, great bodily injury, or mayhem;

(17) exploding a destructive device or any explosive with intent to murder;

(18) any burglary of the first degree;

(19) robbery or bank robbery;

(20) kidnapping;

(21) holding of a hostage by a person confined in a state prison;

(22) attempt to commit a felony punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison for life;

(23) any felony in which the defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon;

(24) selling, furnishing, administering, giving, or offering to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor any heroin, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), or any methamphetamine-related drug, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code, or any of the precursors of methamphetamines, as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11055 or subdivision (a) of Section 11100 of the Health and Safety Code;

(25) any violation of subdivision (a) of Section 289 where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person;

(26) grand theft involving a firearm;

(27) carjacking;

(28) any felony offense, which would also constitute a felony violation of Section 186.22;

(29) assault with the intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy, or oral copulation, in violation of Section 220;

(30) throwing acid or flammable substances, in violation of Section 244;

(31) assault with a deadly weapon, firearm, machinegun, assault weapon, or semiautomatic firearm or assault on a peace officer or firefighter, in violation of Section 245;

(32) assault with a deadly weapon against a public transit employee, custodial officer, or school employee, in violation of Sections 245.2, 245.3, or 245.5;

(33) discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, vehicle, or aircraft, in violation of Section 246;

(34) commission of rape or sexual penetration in concert with another person, in violation of Section 264.1;

(35) continuous sexual abuse of a child, in violation of Section 288.5;

(36) shooting from a vehicle, in violation of subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 12034;

(37) intimidation of victims or witnesses, in violation of Section 136.1;

(38) criminal threats, in violation of Section 422;

(39) any attempt to commit a crime (serious crime) other than an assault;

(40)  Section 12022.53;  (Gun Enhancement)

(41) Weapons of Mass Destruction violation relating to sections (b) or (c) of Section 11418;

(42) any conspiracy to commit an offense on this list of serious felonies.