Nolo Releases Do-It-Yourself Legal Forms Kits for Felons Affected by Proposition 47

BERKELEY, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2015) - Nolo, the nation's leading publisher of do-it-yourself legal guides, has released two online form kits for people affected by California's Proposition 47. These kits are the only complete commercial products available, consisting of the four needed court forms and all the information needed to fill them out and file them. They allow those affected by the Proposition to downgrade their felony convictions to misdemeanors without using a lawyer, potentially saving thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Tens of thousands of felons are affected by Prop 47. The initiative, passed in late 2014, drastically altered the way California charges and punishes many low-level theft and drug possession cases, making them misdemeanors instead of felonies.

"The big deal about Prop 47 is that the law is fully retroactive -- anyone with a covered felony conviction who qualifies for relief, no matter how old, can apply to the court to be resentenced as a misdemeanant," said Janet Portman, Executive Editor at Nolo. "Until the release of Nolo's Prop 47 kits, defendants had no central source of information, and lacked a complete set of forms that would enable them to get the job done without hiring a lawyer."

Nolo offers two do-it-yourself Prop 47 kits, one for those with old felony convictions for simple drug possession or a low-level theft (https://www.nolo.com/products/california-proposition-47-application-for-redesignation-kit-pr444.html), and one for those who are still serving their sentences (https://www.nolo.com/products/california-proposition-47-petition-for-resentencing-kit-pr443.html). Each kit is available online for $49.99.

Nolo also offers a host of free information and frequently asked questions about Prop 47 at http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/california-prop-47.

"At Nolo, we believe that everyone should have access to the information they need in order to handle legal issues themselves whenever possible," said Portman. "These kits are the latest continuation of this long-time philosophy, and our hope is that thousands of people will be able to improve their legal situations as a result."

About Nolo
Nolo (www.nolo.com) is a leading provider of plain-English legal information and products for consumers and businesses. A subsidiary of Internet Brands, Nolo focuses most of its efforts on its award-winning websites, which feature extensive free content, online tools and a consumer-friendly lawyer directory. Nolo also develops market-leading software, online legal forms, and print and ebooks.

Nolo was founded in 1971 by two legal aid attorneys who set out to demystify the law for people who couldn't afford lawyers. Since then Nolo has produced over 20 million plain-English legal guides across all areas of the law.