Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
24/7 Help:
(866) 361-0010
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
Call Us NowPosted on
Many felonies cannot be expunged. Each state has its own rules. Some states allow for the expungement of all or most felony convictions. Other states do not allow felonies to be expunged at all. But certain felonies are almost never eligible for expungement. These generally include murder, serious violent crimes, and sex crimes involving children.
In many cases, there is a waiting period to expunge a conviction. There may be other requirements, as well.
In most states, if a felony is expunged, it will be sealed from public view. Private parties will not be able to see it on your criminal history. The felony will be hidden from:
Each state has its own list of criminal records that can be expunged. What is eligible for expungement will depend on the state.
Certain criminal records are more likely to be eligible for expungement than others. These records are:
Convictions are the type of records that are the least likely to be sealed.
Convictions for a felony are less likely to be eligible for expungement than a misdemeanor.
Again, there are a lot of differences between states.
In some states, no felony conviction can be expunged. These states include:
In some states, the list of felonies that can be expunged is very short. These include:
In still other states, though, most felonies can be expunged. Only the most severe offenses are ineligible. These states include:
In the states that are the most generous with expungement, there are still some felonies that cannot be sealed. Some of these crimes can include:
Driving under the influence (DUI) is not eligible for expungement in a surprising number of states. Many states expressly prohibit expungement of a DUI conviction or guilty plea.
Some of these states include:
An expungement is supposed to hide a criminal record from public view. It does not destroy the record of a felony conviction. It just seals it so no one in the public can see it. Certain government agencies can still access it.
However, in some states, an expunged record can still be seen. These states may refer to the process as expungement or by another term, like:
Most states have a long list of requirements that need to be met for a felony to be expunged. These requirements typically include:
Each state has its own requirements. They can be very strict or relatively easy.
For example, in California, felony convictions can only be expunged if:
Expungement is not available for certain criminal offenses, even if these requirements are met. These include:
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.