For individuals who have a past conviction we can help you by filing an expungement. An expungement is a way to clean up your criminal record. Misdemeanors, as well as some felony offenses can be expunged.

An expungement is done through filing a petition with the court. The petition is to have the case reopened so that an individual is able to withdraw a guilty plea that they had previously made. After the withdrawal of the guilty plea, the person no longer has a conviction. However, the case record will still exist, and the arrest will still be there, but the outcome of the case will indicate that the conviction was dismissed in the interest of justice. In effect, after this process, you are no longer a convicted person.

Having a criminal conviction expunged is particularly helpful when an individual is applying for employment. When applying for employment, employers may only ask you about convictions. An expungement will help individuals in seeking employment, because they no longer have a conviction only arrest on their records. Thus, if asked by a potential employer whether or not they have had a criminal conviction in the past, they are able to truthfully answer that they have not been convicted of a crime. It is important to keep in mind that the arrest record will still appear in an individual’s criminal record. In accordance with the California Labor Code, employers can not ask or consider information about arrests that did not result in a conviction for employment purposes.