What rights does a defendant have when they are charged with a misdemeanor?

However, the nature of the accused's substantive rights in connection with the trial process may be altered if the accused is tried on a misdemeanor charge in superior court rather than in an inferior court. For example, Penal Code section 1382, subdivision 3, provides an action must be dismissed if the defendant in a misdemeanor case in an inferior court is not brought to trial within 30 days after arraignment, if in custody, otherwise within 45 days. If the defendant is charged with both misdemeanor and felony offenses and an information is filed in superior court, division 2 of section 1382 applies, requiring dismissal if the defendant is not brought to trial within 60 days after the information is filed. (People v. McKerney, supra, 257 Cal.App.2d 64, 70, 64 Cal.Rptr. 614.) The fact defendant may have to wait twice as long before trial begins if she is tried in superior court on misdemeanor charges may justify allowing her the added procedural safeguards of a preliminary examination and a finding of probable cause before she is held over for trial.