Expungement

Table of Contents

Orange County Expungement Attorney

Expunging a criminal record is a division of the Law Offices of John D. Rogers exclusively dedicated and emphasized to expungements in California. This includes both felony and misdemeanor crimes. In most instances, our clients do not need to attend court. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with an experienced Orange County expungement attorney.

A prior arrest or conviction can be more than an embarrassment, but also have adverse effects on your personal and professional life. It can prevent you from obtaining a job, credit, a bank loan, renting an apartment, or being accepted to certain schools and colleges. The social stigma attached to a criminal record can be devastating even when it was an isolated instance in your life. The general public and potential employers have access to your arrest and court file. Fortunately, for many people in this situation, a remedy does exist.

Expungement

What Is An Expungement In California?

In California, Penal Code 1203.4 permits a person convicted of a crime and sentenced to probation or not, upon proper motion, permit them to withdraw their guilty or no contest plea, or finding of guilt, and enter a plea of not guilty.[1] Thereupon, the court will set aside the plea and dismiss the case.

This means that if you are petitioning for a dismissal, the court, upon proper motion, may withdraw your guilty or no contest plea, or verdict of guilt if you went to trial, and enter a not guilty plea. Then the court will set aside and dismiss the conviction. From that point forward, you are no longer considered convicted of the offense. Your record will be amended and a notion will be displayed as dismissed pursuant to PC 1203.4. The granting of the Petition to Dismiss shows that you fully complied with all the Courts orders and the Court determined you were eligible for relief under Penal Code section 1203.4 or 1203.4(a).

Contrary to popular belief, your criminal conviction (e.g., DUI, Assault, Battery, Domestic Violence) does not automatically drop from your record. Instead, it requires a specific filing of a petition and granting of the expungement/dismissal petition submitted ex parte.

It is important that you take affirmative action as your criminal conviction will appear on your record for decades. Once your petition is granted, you can confidently in many circumstances say “no” regarding any direct question relating to a conviction. Furthermore, once your petition is granted, you are released from all liabilities of your offense, and you will no longer be considered to be convicted of a crime by the state of California.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements To Expunge A Criminal Record?

In order to be eligible to expunge your criminal conviction, you cannot have served time in state prison for the conviction you’re seeking to expunge. However, if your conviction resulted in probation and/or time in the county jail for less than one (1) year, then you are eligible to expunge your record. Among that requirement, you must also:

Not be serving a sentence for any offense,

Not be on probation or parole for any offense,

There are no charges currently pending,

You paid all outstanding fines and fees.

What Are The Benefits Of Expunging A Criminal Record In California?

You may become eligible for student/bank loans

You may become eligible for numerous professional licenses

Truthfully answer “No” to any conviction on a private job application

Private employers cannot hold your previous conviction against you

Crimes We Expunge in Orange County, CA

Our Orange County expungement lawyers petition to expunge both felony and misdemeanor cases. Among many more, below is a list of convictions we petition to dismiss:

What Crimes Are Not Eligible For An Expungement?

A person is ineligible to obtain an expungement if they served their sentence in state prison. The only remedy available is to seek a certificate of rehabilitation and or application for a governor’s pardon. Additionally, even if you were not sentenced to state prison, certain convictions listed below prohibit someone from ever expunging their record

Statutory Rape | Penal Code 261.5(d) PC
Sodomy | Penal Code 286(c) PC
Oral Copulation | Penal Code 287 PC
Lewd Acts with a Minor | Penal Code 288(a) PC
Continuous Sexual Abuse | Penal Code 288.5 PC
Forcible Penetration with a Foreign Object | Penal Code 289 PC
Distribution of Child Pornography | Penal Code 311.1 /.2 PC
Sexual Exploitation of a Minor | Penal Code 311.3 PC
Possession of Child Pornography | Penal Code 311.11 PC
Failure to Stop for Inspection | Vehicle Code 42002.1 VC
Vehicle Code 42001(b) VC
Felony Reckless Evading | Vehicle Code 2800 VC
Vehicle Code 2801 and 2803 VC

Expunging Your Record Will Not

Stop you from registering as a sex offender

Preclude the conviction from being a priorable offense

Relieve you from disclosing to government agencies

Relieve you from disclosing if running for public office

Relieve you from disclosing to the state lottery

Restore your right to own or possess a firearm

Contact an Experienced Orange County Expungement Attorney

It is essential that you take the legal steps necessary to expunge your criminal record with an attorney who has succeeded in this area. If you are interested in getting your criminal record expunged, contact an experienced Orange County expungement attorney at the Law Offices of John D. Rogers for a free confidential consultation.[2] Attorney John D. Rogers is a board-certified specialist in criminal law by the California state bar. His certification assures competency and experience within an area of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.

Legal Footnotes

[1] Penal Code section 1203.4 (“In any case in which a defendant has fulfilled the conditions of probation for the entire period of probation, or has been discharged prior to the termination of the period of probation, or in any other case in which a court, in its discretion and the interests of justice, determines that a defendant should be granted the relief available under this section, the defendant shall, at any time after the termination of the period of probation, if he or she is not then serving a sentence for any offense, on probation for any offense, or charged with the commission of any offense, be permitted by the court to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or, if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court shall set aside the verdict of guilty; and, in either case, the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusations or information against the defendant and except as noted below, he or she shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of which he or she has been convicted, except as provided in Section 13555 of the Vehicle Code. The probationer shall be informed, in his or her probation papers, of this right and privilege and his or her right, if any, to petition for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon. The probationer may make the application and change of plea in person or by attorney, or by the probation officer authorized in writing. However, in any subsequent prosecution of the defendant for any other offense, the prior conviction may be pleaded and proved and shall have the same effect as if probation had not been granted or the accusation or information dismissed. The order shall state, and the probationer shall be informed, that the order does not relieve him or her of the obligation to disclose the conviction in response to any direct question contained in any questionnaire or application for public office, for licensure by any state or local agency, or for contracting with the California State Lottery Commission.”)

[2] We handle expungement petitions throughout Orange County and the adjacent localities, including Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Westminster, Fullerton, Tustin, Irvine, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, Brea, Villa Park, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Bellflower, Norwalk, Downey, Riverside, Torrance, Compton, Van Nuys, San Fernando, Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, Pomona, West Covina, El Monte, and Burbank.