You have been charged with a "misdemeanor", which is a crime less than a felony. Most misdemeanors allow the Court to include less than 1 year of jail time when sentencing a defendant, after they plead guilty or are convicted of the crime by a judge or jury. The level of maliciousness (from a judge's perspective) and a prior record can lead a judge to issue such jail time. However, assuming a typical Halloween decoration without a prior conviction, an experienced attorney would likely be able to convince a prosecutor to reduce the charge and waive any jail time, or convince a judge not to issue jail time as part of the sentence. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Answered on Oct 20th, 2014 at 4:59 PM