Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

The conviction will still appear on your record, but so will the fact that it has been expunged. In many instances, this will allow you to say "no" when asked if you have been convicted of a felony.

Expungement will not reinstate your gun rights, but you may have other options if your felony did not involve the use of firearms or other dangerous weapons. (If it did, you're out of luck.)

Some felonies can be reduced to misdemeanors after the fact; a person who is no longer a felon is no longer denied the right to own a gun on that basis. (This means that people who have multiple felony convictions but only get some of them reduced to misdemeanors are still unable to own guns.)

You may also be able to get a certificate of rehabilitation from a court and/or a pardon from the governor. Either of these remedies will restore your gun rights under California law -- assuming that the particular felony conviction is the only reason you lost them.

Defendants who lose their gun rights under California law normally also lose them under federal law. Reinstating federal gun rights can be more difficult than reinstating them under state law.

You should meet with a lawyer and discuss the specifics of your case with him in order to find out what your options are.

While the general rule is �Records are forever�, some CA convictions can be 'expunged' from criminal records by proper application and Petition to the court, but ONLY IF there was no felony prison time sentenced whether served or not, and if it was not for certain listed sexual crimes, and if all terms of sentencing and at least one year of probation are completed, and if there are no new charges pending. Sounds like yours may qualify.

Expungement specifically does NOT restore firearms rights lost due to felony conviction, and its resulting lifetime ban on possession of firearms or ammo.

If successful, the conviction would be withdrawn and the charges dismissed. Expungement does NOT �clear�, 'remove' or �erase� the conviction, but does change the record to show 'conviction reversed and dismissed by expungement'. It doesn�t �disappear�. The conviction is still a 'prior' or 'strike' for purposes of repeat offense. It still shows on your record that is accessible to government agencies, law enforcement and the courts, as well as background checks for employment and housing.

Expungement will help in obtaining and keeping employment. When applying for a job in the private sector, in response to any question concerning your prior criminal record, you may deny that you were arrested or convicted of the offense.

If you�re serious about doing this, and you think you qualify under those rules, feel free to contact me for the legal help you'll need.

Expungement is the lay term for petitioning the court for an order of dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4. If you were convicted of an infraction, a misdemeanor, or a felony and were not sentenced to state prison or put under the authority of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation , you can petition for a dismissal. This means you were given county jail time, probation, a fine, or a combination of those 3. If you were convicted of a felony and did prison time or were placed under the authority of the Department of Corrections, then you are not eligible to petition for dismissal.

If you were convicted of a wobbler that was charge as a felony and did not do prison time, you must first have the charged reduced to a misdemeanor and then dismissed.

The issue with firearms ownership would depend on the underlying charge.