A wobbler is a criminal offense (crime) that may be charged by the prosecutor and sentenced by the judge as either a misdemeanor offense or a felony offense under applicable law.
In Pennsylvania, the term 'wobbler' is not officially used in the legal system, but it refers to certain crimes that can be prosecuted either as misdemeanors or felonies, depending on various factors such as the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, and prosecutorial discretion. Pennsylvania law does not categorize crimes strictly as misdemeanors or felonies but rather as summary offenses, misdemeanors, felonies, and murder degrees. The grading of an offense can affect the severity of the punishment. For example, theft can be treated differently based on the value of the stolen property, with lower values typically resulting in misdemeanor charges and higher values leading to felony charges. The decision on how to charge a wobbler offense ultimately rests with the prosecutor, and the judge has discretion in sentencing within the parameters set by law for the graded offense.