Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

You can get an "expungement," but it won't be of any help to you where the government or military is concerned.

If you were convicted of any of the following Penal Code sections on sexual and domestic violence crimes, your conviction can NOT be expunged. PC 286(c), PC288, PC288a(c), PC288.5, PC289(j), PC261.5(d)

If yours is not on this list, then you can seek expungement if all terms of sentencing and probation are completed, and if there are no new charges pending. If successful, the conviction would be retroactively reduced to a misdemeanor, if necessary, and then withdrawn and the charges dismissed. Expungement does not 'remove' or �erase� the conviction, but merely changes the record to show 'conviction reversed and dismissed by expungement'. When applying for a job in the private sector, you generally do not have to disclose a conviction if it was expunged. However, the conviction is still a 'prior' or 'strike' for purposes of repeat offense, and must be disclosed on any application for government and professional employment and licensing, bonding, security clearance, etc. The licensing agency and employer then can decide whether you are barred from licensing or employment because of the conviction. 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.

In addition to what Mr. Stone and Mr. Nelson stated, you may want to speak to a recruiter about whether you will need a "Secretarial Waiver" for you to join. I didn't know you could join the Marine Corps at 32.