An expungement is the process of having a
conviction reduced from a felony to a
misdemeanor and then your guilty or no contest
plea is then withdrawn to the charges. The
conviction is then removed from public records.
All misdemeanors can be expunged upon proper
application to the court. Not all felonies can
be expunged, however.
A person may apply to have his/her arrest or
conviction expunged if he/she meets certain
legal criteria. Before a person can have his/her
arrest or conviction expunged, he/she must have
met all the conditions of probation, such as
payment of restitution, completing community
service or finishing court ordered educational
classes, and not be on probation for any other
case or have a pending criminal case. If all of
these requirements are met, the person may file
a petition for expungement. A misdemeanor
expungement must be granted. A felony
expungement will be granted at the judge's
discretion. An attorney such as Mr. Melnik, who
is skilled in this area, can increase your odds
by preparing your case before your appearance at
the hearing, to increase your chances of
success.
Keep in mind that if you had a suspended
sentence, where at your original sentencing the
judge ordered a state prison sentence, but
suspended it to delay that sentence, you are NOT
eligible for an expungement. If you went to
prison on a case, you are also not eligible for
an expungement. In those two types of
situations, you would need the equivalent of a
pardon from the governor called a Certificate of
Rehabilitation. This section of the Penal Code
does not allow you to expunge certain serious
sex offenses. Only the Governor can pardon you
if there are extraordinary circumstances
surrounding your conviction and life to obtain
relief from a sex offense conviction.
Even though you are granted an expungement by
the court for a conviction, there are three
circumstances where you must still disclose your
conviction on an application. If you apply for
licensing by any state agency, such as a real
estate license or nursing license, you must
disclose the expunged conviction. Likewise, you
must disclose a conviction if you apply for a
job with the California State Lottery or apply
for public office.
Any conviction that is expunged is only
expunged for purposes of the public knowledge
and for your sense of well being. If you are
arrested on another case, the expunged
conviction can still be used against you in a
new prosecution. For example, if you had a
felony burglary case expunged and were later
arrested in possession of a firearm, you could
still be charged with felon in possession of a
firearm instead of a misdemeanor gun possession.
Another example is a petty theft. If you are
arrested for a new petty theft case after your
old one was expunged, you can still be charged
with the felony charge of Petty Theft with a
Prior.
If you are interested in expunging your
criminal record, do not hesitate to
contact Mr. Melnik and speak to him directly to discuss what
your options are.
