Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: Misdemeanor

You are going to have to go to the courthouse and look up the case and get a copy of the record of conviction. Maybe you can get it expunged. One problem you have is, you have a theft conviction, and those have a way of hanging around forever.

Re: Misdemeanor

I agree with the previous answer to the extent that I think you need to go to the courthouse in the county where the charges were brought and look up the public record. Perhaps you can do this on line; counties differ in what you can get from their Web sites.

It's very possible that the record simply shows that you were originally charged with a misdemeanor but that you were convicted of an infraction. In that case, the record is correct, and can't be changed. What you have to do is get employers, etc. to focus not on the charge but on the conviction (if anything).

As information, counts that can be charged either as felonies or misdemeanors at the DA's discretion are termed "wobblers." Somewhat less officially, matters that can be charged either as misdemeanors or as infractions are called "wobblettes."

I disagree that expungement is of much real value. While I was a law student, I worked for three years in the local Public Defender's office, where one of my prime responsibilities was handling expungements. The sad truth about expungement is that NOTHING in your record is physically expunged (deleted). All that happens is that another record is added, saying (in effect) "the prior record is hereby expunged." So the whole world can still read all the former stuff, with the only change being that they are now politely asked to ignore it. Will they?