Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Expungement

The information provided does not constitute legal advice to any individual or with regard to a specific situation. It is intended to provide the reader with some general legal principals raised by the question. Specific legal advice can only be rendered by applying the relevant law to a specific situation fact.

California law allows many individuals convicted of a felony to go back to court and have their conviction dismissed. This procedure is generally available to those convicted of a felony and whose sentence included a period of probation. Those sentenced to prison and whose sentence did not include a period of probation and not generally eligible.

However, if your sentence included a period of probation, AND you successfully completed probation and are not in any current legal trouble you can apply to the court for dismissal of your conviction. If such a petition is properly prepared and served, the request is typically granted . Although there are a number of advantages to having your conviction dismissed, your record is not completely cleared. For example, if you were later convicted of the same offense, the new offense would be considered a �second offense�. California professional license agencies may also take the dismissed conviction into account and your status under the gun laws remains unchanged among other things..

If you were not granted probation as part of your sentence there are some limited alternatives which might apply, including the possibility of having your felony reduced to a misdemeanor and then applying to have that misdemeanor conviction dismissed.