Los Angeles Expungement Attorney

Expungements / Clearing Your Record / Seal and Destroy

A criminal conviction can continue to impact your life long after a sentence has been served.  Expungement can remove hurdles to gainful employment, professional licenses, and bring closure and emotional relief. Although the past can never be completely eradicated, some relief from the past convictions is available in many situations. The methods for cleansing arrest and conviction records vary, depending on the nature of the charge and case disposition. They may include records sealing or destruction, case dismissal, certificate of rehabilitation, and pardon.

Dismissal of Charges

Expungements are not available to persons sentenced to state prison or under the authority of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.  Nevertheless, those who have served prison terms may have other options available to them.  For example, ex-prisoners may file a petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon.

If you were arrested but were never charged, if your charges were dismissed in court, or if you were acquitted by a jury, your arrest record – the police reports, finger-prints, booking photos—do not just go away. These crime reports remain on file indefinitely with the police agency and the Department of Justice.  We can petition the court to declare you “factually innocent” and to order the arrest records sealed and destroyed.  After successfully getting the arrest record destroyed, the police agency must seal the arrest records for three years and thereafter purge and destroy the arrest records.

Under Penal Code Section 1203.4, Defendants who have been granted and successfully completed probation or have been discharged early can petition the court to set aside a guilty verdict or permit withdrawal of the guilty or nolo contendere plea and dismiss the accusation or information.

Dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4a is available to a person convicted of a misdemeanor and not granted probation.

Employment Applications

Employers generally cannot ask job applicants about these matters:
• Arrests or detentions that did not result in convictions;
• Convictions for which the record has been ordered sealed or expunged;
• Convictions that were dismissed under Penal Code Section 1203.4; or
• Information about a referral to, and participation in, any pretrial or post-trial diversion programs

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