Im from Illinois and recently in July, they have decriminalize up to 10 grams of cannabis. I was obviously caught, went to court and was given the deferred program. On Friday, I recieved a letter from the state's attorney stating i must show up at court and either plead guilty to the misdemeanor or to the civil prosecution ($100-200 fine). If I plead guilty to the civil protection, does that get rid of the deferred program because it is meant for misdemeanor? Thanks
Here is a link to the marijuana laws in Illinois now, after the State decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana:
http://norml.org/laws/item/illinois-penalties
It seems to me that it would be smart to avoid the misdemeanor and pay the fine for the civil infraction. The citations are automatically expunged two times a year (January 1 and July 1). That leaves you with no record of being ticketed for possession.
There is a diversion program (deferred adjudication) available for offenders who wish to plead guilty to the misdemeanor. There is no program for the civil infraction. It is treated like a traffic ticket with the addition of having a later expungement. With diversion, you must meet all terms of probation for your offense within your probationary period for the offense to be discharged and dismissed. If you do not satisfy all terms, the misdemeanor can be entered and you wind up with a criminal record.
Certainly consult with your attorney if you have one but I see no positives for you, based strictly on what you have written at any rate, of pleading guilty to the misdemeanor.
The new law (720 ILCS 550/4, Cannabis Control Act) can be found here:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1937&ChapterID=53