What can I expect for my court date for a first offense drug possession citation?

Last week I was given a citation for HSC 11357 (b) in California. Misdemeanor possession of marijuana, amounting to 3 grams. I have no prior history with the law in any shape or form. This is literally the first time I have even spoken to a cop without being a bystander. I am 20 yrs old. What are all my possible outcomes of my court date? I.E. if I plea out, nolo contender plea, guilty, or fight the case. And if I decide to just take the conviction and pay the fee about what ballpark would this run? I am hoping to get deferred entry of judgement but that still has me with a conviction for the period of the DEJ. I do not want my lapse in judgement to ruin the rest of my life. It will already ruin the next year of my college life because of loss of financial aid.

The conviction will be expunged from my criminal record after 2 years. the public record is what stays. and I dont plan on traveling out of country in the next two years. I have my job already. I am asking from people who have been in this situation. And DEJ or diversionary sentencing would keep a conviction from ever being on my record but the record would still reflect me having DEJ, I don't know about diversion though.

N C is absolutely wrong and you are almost correct. All marijuana possession records are destroyed after two years. This is far more extensive than mere expungement (which does not do much under California law); this is the complete destruction of all records, including CII records.

If you take DEJ (which may have advantages) you will NOT have a conviction for that period. California law specifically says that DEJ is not a conviction for any purpose.

Since this is a misdemeanor (even though no jail time can result), you are entitled to appointed counsel if you cannot afford an attorney. It would probably be a good idea to talk to a lawyer about this before making a final decision.

Sorry; but if you are found guilty, plead guilty and/or pay any fines (that is, unless you are found not guilty) you have already ruined the rest of your life. As an adult, you record will stay with you for the rest of your life. You will find it very difficult to travel outside the country and certain occupations and even volunteer opportunities will be closed to you. It is hard to explain to an employer why you can't go to the international trade show to market the company product.

A short term high can have a long term high cost.

Best of luck.