A great result in a criminal case is to have a felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor.
However, if you are able to get a felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor, regardless of the outcome of the misdemeanor, your felony arrest will still be on your record.
The biggest myth in the criminal justice system is that a dismissed case means that the arrest record automatically goes away. No such thing. If you are arrested, no matter what the outcome is, you will always have a record of that arrest unless you are able to seal or expunge the record.
If you are arrested for a felony and your attorney is able to get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor, you should be happy. However, you should also consider sealing or expunging the case once the misdemeanor is resolved. If the misdemeanor charge is dimissed or a withhold of adjudication is imposed (provided the misdemeanor is an eligible offense), you may be able to seal or expunge the entire record.
Sealing or expunging a case where the felony count has been reduced to a misdemeanor count results in the entire record - both felony and misdemeanor - being destroyed.
Eric Matheny is a criminal defense attorney serving Miami-Dade and Broward. Attorney Matheny seals or expunges criminal records throughout the State of Florida.