Call Us 619-583-0350 619-583-0350

San Diego Expungement Attorney

Just because you have been convicted or pled guilty to an offense in a negotiated settlement, your case may not be over. At Spital & Associates, our expungement lawyers want to help you continue your rehabilitation and to fulfill the terms and conditions of probation. If desired, you can retain us to seek the dismissal of your conviction and have your case expunged if you have complied with the terms of your probation, even if the entire period of probation is not completed. Send us an email or call our expungement lawyers for a free consult.

Criminal Record Expungements in San Diego

If you were granted and have successfully completed probation, either by fulfilling the conditions of probation or being successfully discharged before the end of the probationary period, you may be eligible to clear your criminal record.

It is not necessary that the full term of Probation be completed to obtain this relief. For example, your probation may be for five years, however, if you have successfully fulfilled all of the terms and conditions except the period of time and have had no intervening criminal cases, you may be eligible to have the guilty plea withdrawn and the conviction dismissed.

You are not eligible for a dismissal if your conviction is for a violation of Vehicle Code section 42001(b) or Penal Code sections 286(c), 288, 288a(c), 288.5, 289(j) or any felony conviction of Penal Code section 261.5(d).

Can an expungement help you?

  • It will result in the dismissal of the case;
  • It may allow you to answer “NO” on employment applications that inquire if you have any prior convictions (you should first consult with a labor attorney). On the other hand, if you are applying for a California professional or occupational license, government employment or a job in which there will likely be a background investigation, the employer will likely discover the conviction; therefore, you may want to disclose the conviction and note it has been expunged or dismissed (some prefer attaching a certified copy of the court order). Also, the conviction or underlying facts, if the conviction is dismissed, may be used to refuse or revoke a state license and/or permit, such as a professional license issued to a doctor, attorney, nurse, dentist, real estate sales broker/agent, security officer, teacher, bus driver, etc. At Spital & Associates, we handle state administrative cases and will compile and use a variety of important factors, including the expungement, to marginalize the conviction to help obtain or keep your state board license.
  • If you have a felony conviction, it must first be reduced to a misdemeanor. If the felony conviction dud not include jail and/or probation, you probably received a state prison sentence, in which case a Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon, or Direct Application to the Governor for a Pardon may be the relief you want to obtain.

Pardon

A Certificate of Rehabilitation is a court order that declares that you have been convicted of a felony or qualified misdemeanor and are rehabilitated. If a petition for a Certificate of Rehabilitation is granted, it is forwarded by the Superior Court to the Governor, and constitutes your application for a Governor’s pardon. There are limited circumstances in which the Governor will grant a pardon, however, a Certificate of Rehabilitation is granted if:

  • You were sentenced to State Prison and were released on Parole (thereby being ineligible for expungement);
  • You have a felony conviction and desire a Governor’s Pardon;
  • You have a misdemeanor conviction and are required to register pursuant to PC 290.

Can a Certificate of Rehabilitation help?

  • Once granted it becomes an automatic application for a Governor’s pardon;
  • State licensing agencies will take into account the Certificate of Rehabilitation when deciding to grant or deny a state license (Doctor, Dentist, Nurse, Real Estate Broker or Agent, Contractor, etc.);
  • It can relieve certain offenders from the registration requirements of PC 290.

Am I eligible for a Certificate of Rehabilitation?

If you have a felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction that requires registration pursuant to Penal Code section 290 (RSO) that has been expunged; have continuously lived in California for three to five years prior to applying for a Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon (Residency requirement is three years if released on parole, all other cases five-year residency is required); and you present to the Court a satisfactory period of rehabilitation (beginning on the date you were released from custody), you are eligible. A change of residence within California does not interrupt the period of rehabilitation.

The period of rehabilitation begins upon your discharge from custody due to your completion of the term to which you were sentenced or upon your release on parole or probation, whichever is sooner. The period of rehabilitation shall be five years’ residence in California plus a period of time determined by the following rules:

(1) To the five years there is added four years for anyone convicted of violating PC Section 187, 209, 219, 4500 or 12310, or subdivision (a) of Section 1672 of the Military and Veterans Code, or of committing any other offense that carries a life sentence.

(2) To the five years there is added five more years for anyone convicted of committing any offense or attempted offense for which sex offender registration is required per PC 290, except for convictions for violations of subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 311.2, or of Section 311.3, 311.10, or 314. For those convictions, two years shall be added to the five years imposed by this section.

(3) To the five years there is added two years for anyone convicted of committing any offense that is not listed in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) and that does not carry a life sentence.

(4) The trial court hearing the application for the certificate of rehabilitation may, if you were ordered to serve consecutive sentences, order that your statutory period of rehabilitation be extended for an additional period of time, but when combined does not exceed the period prescribed by statute for the sum of the maximum penalties for all of the crimes.

(5) Any person who was discharged after completion of his or her term or was released on parole before May 13, 1943, is not subject to the periods of rehabilitation set forth in these rules.

Unless and until the period of rehabilitation has passed, you are ineligible to file a petition for a Certificate of Rehabilitation with the court. It is noteworthy that the dismissal does not remove the arrest from your California Department of Justice “CII or Rap Sheet” nor from the FBI criminal records (PC 1203.4); it also does not reinstate your previous right to possess firearms (although having the felony reduced to a misdemeanor may restore some rights under California law, federal law probably affects a lifetime prohibition for possession of a firearm); also, it does not seal or remove the court case file from public inspection — anyone who knows where to look will be able to find the court case file) Although probation reports are in confidential files and not subject to public inspection 90 days after sentencing, a dismissal does not prevent the conviction from being used for impeachment purposes if you are later called as a witness; nor from being used as a “prior conviction” to increase the punishment if you are subsequently charged in a criminal case; the conviction can still be used by INS for removal and exclusion purposes; and, a conviction can be used to deny an applicant a professional license or result in disciplinary action to suspend or revoke an existing state license.

Main Offices
8880 Rio San Diego Drive, Suite 800
San Diego, CA 92108-1642
Telephone: 619.583.0350
Fax: 619-583-1850

Chula Vista Associate’s Office
By Appointment Only
Chula Vista, Ca. 91910
Call for FREE Consultation: 619.583.0350 or send us an e-mail.

Associates available 7am-9pm Daily.
Call 619.583.0350 or send us an e-mail.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.

You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.