Yes. Criminal charges can be dropped or dismissed in California, and several defined legal paths get there.
A prosecutor can decline to file a case or dismiss one already filed. A judge can throw out charges on a defense motion. A diversion program can end in dismissal once you complete the court's terms.
Knowing how to get charges dropped starts with identifying which of those paths fits the evidence, the charge, and the stage your case has reached. At My Rights Law Criminal Defense and DUI Lawyers, we defend people facing misdemeanor and felony charges in Rancho Cucamonga and throughout Southern California.
Call 909-330-3880 for a free case evaluation.
They can. Two separate actors hold that power, and they use it for different reasons.
The prosecutor decides what to charge and whether to keep pursuing it. Courts decide whether the case survives the legal challenges your defense raises.
Most cases that end without a conviction end through one of these routes:
People use both words interchangeably. Courts do not.
Dropped usually describes a prosecutor's decision to stop pursuing a charge, often before formal filing or early in the case. Dismissed describes a court order ending a charge or the entire action.
The practical difference comes down to one question: Can the case come back? A dismissal without prejudice leaves that door open, while a dismissal with prejudice closes it.
The prosecuting agency does. Not the police, not the person who called 911, and not you.
Once a case is filed, California limits how it can be abandoned. A prosecutor cannot simply walk away from a filed case, because the dismissal has to be entered by the court under California Penal Code § 1385.
That means a court order formally ends a filed case, even when the prosecutor is the one requesting it.
Prosecutors reassess files constantly. A case that looked strong at booking can look very different once a defense attorney submits evidence the police never gathered.
These are among the most common reasons charges get dropped before a court date:
A window exists between arrest and filing when no charges exist yet. Police forward a report, and a prosecutor reviews it before deciding what to charge, or whether to charge anything at all.
That window is the single best opportunity to influence the outcome. Defense counsel can submit mitigating evidence, witness statements, and records the investigating officer never saw.
Once charges are filed, dismissal usually runs through a written motion. Each motion attacks a different weakness in the case.
Under California Penal Code § 1385, a judge or magistrate may order an action dismissed in furtherance of justice, either on the court's own motion or on the prosecuting attorney's application. Reasons for the dismissal must be stated orally on the record.
One detail surprises most people: The defense cannot file a 1385 motion directly. What defense counsel can do is put the facts and circumstances in front of the court that invite a judge to act on that authority. Defense counsel may request that the court exercise its authority under California Penal Code § 1385.
Judges weigh the strength of the evidence, the seriousness of the offense, the defendant's history, and what a conviction would mean for that person.
After a preliminary hearing sends a felony case forward, California Penal Code § 995 allows the defense to ask the trial court to set the information aside. The statute requires the court to grant the motion where the defendant was committed without reasonable or probable cause.
This motion functions as a review of the preliminary hearing judge's decision. It is the primary tool for removing felony counts a magistrate should never have allowed to proceed.
California Penal Code § 1538.5 lets a defendant move to suppress any tangible or intangible thing obtained through a search or seizure. The motion reaches both warrantless searches and searches conducted under a defective warrant.
Suppression does not dismiss a case by itself. When the suppressed item is the case, though, the prosecution frequently has nothing left to proceed on. Drug possession, weapons, and DUI cases turn on this motion more than any other.
California sets hard trial deadlines. Under California Penal Code § 1382, absent good cause, the court must dismiss when a felony defendant is not brought to trial within 60 days of arraignment on the indictment or information.
Misdemeanor deadlines are shorter. The statute sets 30 days after arraignment or plea when the defendant is in custody, and 45 days when the defendant is out of custody.
Waiving time resets that clock. For that reason, a general time waiver should never be entered casually.
Diversion pauses the prosecution while you complete court-ordered conditions. Complete them, and the case is dismissed rather than tried.
California offers several tracks:
This is the broadest option available in misdemeanor cases. California Penal Code § 1001.95 permits a superior court judge to offer diversion at the judge's discretion and over the objection of the prosecuting attorney. The judge may continue the case for a period not to exceed 24 months. Once the defendant has complied with the imposed terms, the judge dismisses the action.
No diagnosis, military service, or specific treatment program is required to qualify.
Subdivision (e) does exclude several charges. Those include any offense requiring sex offender registration under section 290, corporal injury under section 273.5, domestic battery under section 243(e), and stalking under section 646.9.
Misdemeanor DUI is ineligible for judicial diversion, even though section 1001.95 never lists it. Vehicle Code section 23640 separately bars diversion for driving under the influence, and the appellate courts have held that bar still controls.
The Fourth Appellate District reached that result in Grassi v. Superior Court (2021) 73 Cal.App.5th 283. According to the Orange County District Attorney's announcement on the ruling, the California Supreme Court then declined to review the decision. Later published decisions followed the same reasoning.
California Penal Code § 1001.36 allows diversion where a defendant has been diagnosed with a qualifying mental disorder identified in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, excluding antisocial personality disorder and pedophilia. For a felony charge, the diversion period runs no longer than two years.
Military diversion applies to current and former service members whose qualifying charges connect to service-related conditions. Deferred entry of judgment covers qualifying simple drug possession cases and ends in dismissal on successful completion.
Eligibility for each track turns on the specific charge, the record, and the assigned court.
No single signal guarantees dismissal. Certain patterns do tend to show up in cases that end early.
Watch for these:
Any one of these can strengthen a defense position. What they actually mean for a specific case depends on the charge, the county, the assigned prosecutor, and the record built so far.
The case continues. That decision belongs to the prosecutor, not to the person who made the report.
Nothing surprises people in domestic violence and assault cases more than this. A complaining witness can tell the district attorney they no longer wish to proceed, and prosecutors will note the request. They are not bound by it.
Prosecutors anticipate recantation and build files to survive it.
A case file may already hold the 911 recording, responding officer testimony, photographs, medical records, and statements made at the scene. Those pieces can support a prosecution even after the reporting witness stops cooperating.
Risk also runs the other direction. Someone who changes a sworn account can create legal exposure for themselves. Working through defense counsel is the reliable path, not contact between the parties.
Charges can end at each of those stages. What is available changes as the case moves forward.
Arraignment is the first court appearance, where charges are read and a plea is entered. Dismissal at this point usually comes from the prosecutor rather than the judge, often because defense counsel raised something during the filing review.
In felony cases, the magistrate decides whether the evidence supports holding the defendant to answer. Counts that fail that test are dismissed at the hearing.
This is a live evidentiary proceeding, not a paper review. Cross-examination of the investigating officer often produces the record a later 995 motion is built on.
Dismissal stays available after an indictment. The vehicle shifts to a 995 motion, a suppression motion, a speedy trial motion, or a dismissal in furtherance of justice.
Prosecutors also dismiss counts at this stage when a witness becomes unavailable, or a suppression ruling removes the evidence they were relying on.
Sometimes. California Penal Code § 1387 sets the limit.
An order terminating an action bars further prosecution of a misdemeanor charged on its own after a single dismissal. For a felony, the bar attaches after two dismissals.
Exceptions exist. California Penal Code § 1387.1 gives the prosecution one additional opportunity to refile a violent felony where a prior dismissal resulted solely from excusable neglect. That opportunity never applies where the conduct of the prosecution amounted to bad faith.
California limits how long prosecutors have to bring charges at all. Many felonies punishable by imprisonment in state prison are subject to a three-year statute of limitations under California Penal Code § 801, although numerous exceptions apply. California Penal Code § 802 sets one year for most offenses not punishable by state prison.
Longer periods apply to more serious felonies, and the most serious offenses carry no deadline at all. Once the applicable period runs, the charge cannot be brought.
The charge goes away. The arrest record does not disappear on its own.
A dismissal ends the prosecution, but the arrest, the booking, and the case entry stay in law enforcement and court databases until a separate step addresses them. Employers running background checks can still see an arrest that never produced a conviction.
Two forms of relief exist.
California allows sealing for many arrests that did not end in conviction, including cases where charges were filed and later dismissed. Sealing keeps the record from surfacing on most background checks.
Eligibility rules and exclusions apply, so the arrest and its disposition both need review before a petition is filed.
This is the stronger remedy. Under California Penal Code § 851.8, a person can petition for a judicial finding that they were factually innocent of the offense for which they were arrested.
The petitioner carries the initial burden of showing no reasonable cause existed to believe they committed the offense. Once that showing is made, the burden shifts to the prosecution.
A court that finds factual innocence orders the records sealed. That order reaches the arresting agency, the Department of Justice, and any agency that participated in the arrest. Sealing runs for three years from the arrest date, and the records are destroyed afterward.
Dismissal is not something a defense attorney requests and receives. It gets built, and it gets built early.
Our approach on charge-dismissal cases follows a consistent sequence:
Facing charges anywhere in Southern California? Call 909-330-3880 to talk through which of these steps applies to your situation.
No general percentage applies to an individual case. The outcome depends on the evidence, the charge, your record, and the strength of the legal challenges available.
Yes. A prosecutor can apply to dismiss a filed case, and the court enters that order in furtherance of justice under California Penal Code § 1385.
Yes. Felony counts can end at the preliminary hearing, on a 995 motion, on a suppression motion, on speedy trial grounds, or in furtherance of justice.
Timing varies widely. Some cases end at the filing review within weeks, while others resolve only after months of motion practice.
Yes. Charges rarely fall away on their own, and the deadlines for filing suppression and dismissal motions keep running while you wait.
Waiting carries a cost. Evidence degrades, filing windows close, and speedy trial deadlines run whether or not anyone is protecting them.
Our attorneys at My Rights Law Criminal Defense and DUI Lawyers examine every available route for how to get charges dropped or dismissed, from pre-filing intervention through trial preparation. We defend clients in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Victorville, and Santa Ana.
Call 909-330-3880 or contact our Rancho Cucamonga office for a free case evaluation. Founder and managing attorney Bobby Shamuilian and our defense team are ready to review your charges.
This page was written by the My Rights Law Editorial Team and reviewed for legal accuracy by Bobby Shamuilian.
Attorney Shamuilian is the founder and managing partner of My Rights Law and is widely recognized as a legal authority, frequently appearing as a legal analyst and TV pundit on national news outlets.
He has earned a perfect “10.0 – Top Attorney” rating on AVVO and a “10.0” rating on Justia, and has been named among the “Top 40 Under 40” and the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by The National Trial Lawyers.
With his proven expertise and dedication, Mr. Shamuilian is committed to protecting your rights and achieving the best possible outcome for your case.
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