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.
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.
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Arrests can remain on your record forever unless you get the record expunged or sealed. Records of arrests and prosecutions (rap sheets) are maintained by the United States Department of Justice as well as state and local law enforcement agencies. These records do not automatically get purged at various intervals.
Note, however, that the rules are different when it comes to arrests and background checks. Most states have laws that prohibit background checks from revealing records of arrests/convictions that occurred more than seven years from the date of the check.
Criminal laws in the United States allow for certain types of criminal records (for instance, records of an arrest and/or conviction) to be expunged or sealed by a criminal court.
An expungement or sealing of records works to remove arrest and/or conviction records from your criminal background. Once removed, the arrest or conviction is treated like it never occurred.
For example, once you get a record of an arrest/conviction removed, you never have to disclose to employers that it ever took place.
Note that expungement and/or sealing is not interpreted as a forgiveness of an arrest or conviction.1 Further, neither act is considered a pardon.2
Every state and jurisdiction has its own laws regarding:
Also, state laws vary depending on what happens once an arrest/conviction record gets sealed or expunged. Some states say that a record gets destroyed. Other states say that while a record gets removed from the public eye, it can still be accessed by law enforcement.4
While expungements and the sealing of records are beneficial, there are limitations as to both.
For instance, expungements and court sealings apply to specific charges and arrests within specific courts. They do not apply to social media or matters of the press.
Consider, for example, if you get arrested for DUI but are ultimately found innocent of the crime. In such a case, it may be that the arrest was posted in a local newspaper or made it onto a given website. So even if you get a seal – and the arrest is removed from law enforcement and court records – it may remain in publicly accessible media such as news records and websites.
Under California law, an expungement is a form of post-conviction relief authorized by Penal Code 1203.4 PC. It releases you from “all penalties and disabilities” arising out of a conviction.5
As a basic rule, the statute authorizes an expungement for a misdemeanor or felony offense provided you:
If you are applying for PC 1203.4 relief, you must have successfully completed probation in its entirety (or obtained an early termination of probation).
Note that there are certain felony offenses that can never be expunged. These include serious sex offenses committed against children, such as:
Note that under California law, the sealing and destroying of arrest records (per Senate Bill 383) is a totally different process from expunging records of criminal convictions under PC 1203.4.
You are entitled to have a California arrest record sealed and destroyed if:
Sealing an arrest record generally allows you to state that you have never been arrested for a crime. This is because in order to seal a record the judge must declare you factually innocent.
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.