Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

You can't. Convictions result in records. Records are forever. The arrest is also reported, forever, as an arrest. Avoid a conviction if you can, hire an attorney to help is the normal advice. For anyone with a conviction, the following advice can be followed:

Many felony and misdemeanor convictions [not infractions] can sometimes be 'expunged' by proper application and Motion to the court, but only if there was no prison time served or even sentenced, if it was not for certain sex and Domestic Violence crimes, if all terms of sentencing and probation [and at least one year of probation] are completed and finished, and if there are no new charges pending. If successful, the conviction would be retroactively withdrawn and the charges dismissed. That does not 'remove' the conviction, but merely changes the record to show 'conviction reversed and dismissed by expungement'. If expunged, you would be able to say 'no' to conviction on most private employment applications. However, the conviction is still a 'prior' for purposes of repeat offense, and must be disclosed on any application for government and professional licensing, bonding, security clearance, etc. The agency and employer then can decide whether you are barred from employment because of your conviction. The Labor Code bars employers [not others] from asking about arrests without conviction, or seeking that info from other sources, or using that info to deny employment. Private parties are not supposed to be able to access the records, but like all rules, there are ways around it. If you�re serious about doing so, and you think you qualify, feel free to contact me for the legal help you'll need.

You need to aggressively fight the charge with everything you have. A conviction will follow you for a long time.

Right now, there will only be the record of arrest and pending charges on your record. Whether it shows up will depend on the depth of the background check. Good luck!!!