Can a misdemeanor be raised to a felony?

Answer 1

Being a fugitive from a warrant that is for a misdemeanor is itself a misdemeanor. This assumes that the defendant has been arrested and posted a bond in exchange for a promise to appear at any future court hearings.

Answer 2

Yes, after continuing investigation by law enforcement it is possible that the circumstances of the offense might warrant elevating the original charge and re-charging it as a felony offense. For instance: The victim of a simple assault may die from the assault which would cause the charge to be raised to Manslaughter or Homicide.

Answer 3

Unlikely, but possible. The criteria for either offense classification is set by the wording of the statute you were charged with. The only way your charge could be 'upped' is, if during further investigation of your offense, it came to light that the facts of the crime supported an upgrade in the charge. The prosecutor could file to amend the original charge to the appropriate felony offense. Kind of unlikely, but where the law is concerned, anything is possible.

Answer 4

Yes. If a plea bargain is offered sometimes the charges may be lightened. A felony 5 for example may be changed to a misdemeanor 6. Also if the defendant has "deferred prosecution" the court orders the defendant to accomplish certain goals. If completed the court changes the felony to a misdemeanor. This is frequent done in drug cases to encourage the defendant to participate in drug recovery and become independent of their addiction.

Answer 5

Warrants don't "turn into" something different. When a warrant is issued it is either issued for a misdemeanor or a felony offense. It doesn't change.

Answer 6

Yes, it is possible that an ongoing investigation may uncover further evidence which escalates a misdemeanor charge into a felony charge.