People v. Crossdale

Summary

The Supreme Court of California held that a first violation of Penal Code section 502.7(a), involving fraudulent avoidance of telephone or telegraph service charges, may be punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony regardless of whether the loss exceeds $400. The court concluded that the statute does not incorporate the $400 grand-theft threshold in Penal Code section 487(a). It reversed the Court of Appeal's judgment and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Yes. A first violation of Penal Code section 502.7, subdivision (a), is a misdemeanor-or-felony wobbler, and the statute does not require a loss exceeding $400 before the offense may be punished as a felony.
2. No. Penal Code section 502.7(a) does not incorporate section 487(a)'s $400 distinction between grand and petty theft.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a first offense under Penal Code section 502.7, subdivision (a), may be punished as a felony when the loss does not exceed $400.
2. Whether Penal Code section 502.7, subdivision (a), incorporates the $400 grand-theft threshold in Penal Code section 487, subdivision (a).

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded