Expungements In California

WHAT DOES AN EXPUNGEMENT DO?

What is an expungement?

The expungement statute, PC 1203.4, allows you to change a crime that you have been found guilty of from a “conviction” to a “dismissal. This means that even if you have plead guilty or been found guilty after a trial, you can still potentially get a dismissal of your case after the fact, by way of expungement. While this will not get you out of doing jail time or other conditions of your sentence, it will clean up your record by removing the conviction from it.

What is the effect of an expungement?

Having your case expunged means that if someone were to pull your criminal history, where previously it would have listed the charge and next to it “guilty”, it will now say “dismissed”. When asked, you can lawfully say that your case was dismissed, because that is what an expungement does.

Here are some potential reasons people want their case expunged:

If your case has been expunged, you would not have to disclose it to a potential employer
an expungement can help in avoiding some negative immigration consequences that can come with a conviction
removing the conviction from your record can make you eligible to work in certain professions the conviction prohibited you from

Please note that an expungement alone, will not do the following:

make you eligible to possess a firearm if you were prohibited from doing so because of your conviction. If you are looking to restore your firearms rights, contact us here and we can help.
terminate a protective order that was in place pursuant to the case
terminate your requirement to register. If you need assistance with this, contact us here for help.

WHO CAN GET AN EXPUNGEMENT?

Who needs an expungement?

People who were convicted of a crime. If you were only arrested or charged, what you may need is a sealing or certificate of detention. Read more here, to determine what process you need based on what happened in your underlying case.

How do you qualify for an expungement?

To get an expungement under PC 1203.4, you must meet these requirements:

you successfully completed probation
you do not have any new cases pending against you
your crime was not one of the serious violent or sexual offenses that are ineligible for an expungement under 1203.4
your conviction did not result in a prison sentence
- there are some exceptions to this, read more below

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW LAW ON AUTOMATIC EXPUNGEMENTS?

New law on expungements : SB 731

In July of 2023, California enacted “The Clean Slate Act” under Senate Bill 731. Under this bill, many people with records would be eligible for automatic expungements of their cases. Not only does this new law grant automatic expungements, it also expands who is allowed to get an expungement. Some felonies that carried a prison sentence that were not eligible for expungement in the past, are now eligible for expungement under SB 731.

Who qualifies under SB 731?

The new law is complicated and particular as to who qualifies; it depends upon your offense and when you were convicted of the offense. Most misdemeanors and felonies will be eligible for the automatic expungement after a few years from your conviction, as long as your probation has been successfully completed. If you have questions about whether you qualify for automatic clearing of your record under SB 731, contact us here.

Things to know about SB 731

Like any new law, SB 731 is going to take time to implement. The government is still figuring out how these automatic expungements and sealings will be handled and who will be processing them. Therefore, it may take some time for you to get your automatic expungement if you qualify under the new law. If you have an urgent reason that you need your case expunged, or your criminal record is holding you back, you may want to consider hiring an attorney to get it done for you in a timely manner. If you are in this situation, please contact us here.

HOW DO I GET MY CASE EXPUNGED?

If you do not get your record cleared automatically, you will need to petition the court

An attorney can help you petition the court for an expungement if you were not entitled to one automatically. The District Attorney can oppose the expungement, which would require argument on your behalf. An attorney can file the petition for you, and also argue your side to the court.

What will the court consider?

The primary considerations of the court will be whether you are rehabilitated, and whether your conviction is causing you a hardship. So having a record that is clear of other charges will be helpful; and in fact it is required that you do not have charges pending against you, or a sentence that you are currently serving at the time of your petition. As your attorney, we can explain to the court the hardship that your record has caused you.

For most people, an expungement can help with the following: