The defendant can then either consent to be tried summarily (though likely in a different hearing on a later date) or opt for trial by jury at the Crown Court, provided that they have pleaded not guilty.
Thus it is not possible for a defendant to avoid the harsher sentences available in the Crown Court simply by accepting a summary trial.
The choice of forum is a matter for the Lord Advocate and procurator fiscal, and is determined in a process known as marking.
In U.S. states in which these offenses occur, the prosecuting attorney has discretion in deciding which category to charge the defendant.
Prosecutors may strategically file such offenses as felonies, agreeing to refile the charge as a misdemeanor should the defendant consent to a guilty plea.
In juvenile court, after a minor is declared to be delinquent following a bench trial or open plea, the judge may classify a wobbler felony as a misdemeanor instead.
[9] In this case, the judge has the power to reduce a felony charge of this type to a misdemeanor during various stages of the proceeding, including the preliminary hearing all the way until after a defendant completes probation.