Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

You may want to consider a certificate of rehabilitation. It does more than an expungement. Make an appointment with a qualified attorney in or near your area to have a disscussion. David Wallin

Another avenue exists, though it is rare when it can be done. If there was any legal defect in the conviction, it could be set aside and vacated and the charges reinstated. Usually the D.A. dismisses at that point. then you could petition for factual innocence, which unlike a certif of rehabilitation, will destroy all records of the old arrest, charges, conviction, etc. This could solve your problem with California gov agencies.

Petitions for Factual Innocence (PFI) under Penal Code Sec. 851.8 are my specialty. You can learn more on my website.

http://lawyer-expungement.com/petition.htm

http://lawyer-expungement.com/results.htm

Good luck

You do a motion to vacate the conviction. It can be done as there might be various grounds on which an old conviction could be set aside, some times for what you could describe as banal or technical reasons. For example, if you were not a citizen of the US when you were convicted, and the court did not give you a warning that a conviction could trigger adverse immigration consequences, you could have your conviction vacated.

Please free to give me a call to discuss your situation in more detail.

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq. 213.250.9200 www.lentzlawfirm.com