Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
I was arrested and on trial for possession. I had to go back to court for a traffic issue and when I asked my lawyer to have my possession exspunged he said he could not file for my felony to be refused to a misdemeanor because I have a "sales" conviction. I have never sold drugs and have never been arrested for that conviction. What can I do
1 Answer from Attorneys
What code section was your conviction?
Possession for personal use (meth) = 11377
Possession with intent to sell = 11378
Sales or transportation = 11379
Often, attorneys refer to both 11378 and 11379 as "sales" cases. Both of those are straight felonies that cannot be reduced. As long as you didn't get sentenced to prison, you can apply for "expungement" but not reduction.
California does not have a true "expungement" statute. What we do have is a dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4. If granted, it doesn't wipe the case off your record, but it adds a notation that the case was dismissed. That allows you to tell most employers that you have not been convicted of the crime, but it remains on your record and still counts as a prior conviction.
Start with what your records show.
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