Curious reading previous post. When these type of charges are plea bargained down and are misdemeanors can they be removed from the records totally after a certain amount of time? I have a friend who has two misdemeanor charges that were plea bargained down. One to a trespassing and the other to a indecent exposure.
What would be the procedure for removal, etc.? Costs? Barter available?
-- Modified on 3/29/2003 10:56:11 AM
From what I have been able to determine expunging misdemeanor convictions CAN be expunged BUT there will always be a record deep in the bowels of the LA County Computer.
Let me explain:
Yes upon sucessful of probation, (and paying fines and/or completing community service of course)and of course no further convictions. The individual convicted may petition the court to expunge the convictions(s)fron his/or her record.
The proceedure is as follows: There are those who say that one needs to retain an attorney for this. If it makes you feel better then by all means do so but I know the individual (presuming he/or she has a brain)can do this themselves.
I know a friend of mine took care of her misdemeanor conviction by herself, and it went like clockwork.
These are the directions given to me over the phone by the paralegal at the LA County Courthouse in San Fernando Ca.
She told me to bring in my case/docket number. If I didn't have it, she refered me to the records department.
Once the case/docket number is obtained. One has to fill out and sign a small mountain of forms, and pay a $50.00 fee per conviction (that was the fee when I inquired about a year ago, it may be more now).
The petition is then submited to the court. The petitioner (thats you) will receive a notice of court date in the mail.
I am told it is not required that the petitioner be present in court. The court will inform the petitioner of its decision by mail as well.
I was told by the paralegal(off the record of course) that as long as no other cases are pending and probation has been completed it should not be a problem.
Now here is where the double edged sword comes in to action.
The purpose behind expunging a misdemeanor is to allow the individual to answer "no" if asked if he or she has ever been convicted of a misdemeanmor when applying for a job and still be truthfull about it when applying for a "normal" job.
However, as I said above Big Brother always keeps a record therefore, if you apply for state licences such as Doctor, Nurse, Attorney, etc., or a state or county job, you must disclose or you run the risk of denial of priveleges or employment for failure to disclose.
In addition, if the individual in question by bad luck ends up being hauled into court after being busted again after many years on the straight and narrow(as was another friend of mine) The DA can (and will) drag out all those "expunged" convictions and use them against you in your current fiasco.
Finally, I have been told that if the petitioner has one misdemeanor conviction, odds are the court will ok the expungment.
However, if the petitioner has two or more misdemeanor convictions, the court may be reluctant to expunge any or all.
I know thats a lot but its my experience, I hope it helps.
Cliff
-- Modified on 3/29/2003 4:53:17 PM
All priors always remain on your rap sheet so LE always has access to them. Are you sure about reporting misdemeanors on license jobs? It seems contrary to the point of having an expungement provision.
I thought the same thing. However, the way it was explained to me by my Criminal Procedure professor in law school is as follows.
The state considers those who apply for a license to practice certain professions such as Medicine, Nursing, Law, etx to be amswerable to a higher standard.
In effect it is a game, the state in most cases doesn't care as long as you have comlpleted the terms the court set down. What it want to see is how honest you are. In other words the state is saying be honest we already know you have a conviction, expunged or not, so better be honest on your application or we will nail you to the wall. I know its bs. but that s the way it is based on my experience. If you have any contrary info, I am open to other info.
I need to clear up something I said earlier.
Everything, I have said is accurate to the best of my knowledge.
However, with regard to disclosure on application for state liscenses.
I stand by what I said earlier. The conviction MUST be disclosed. However, along with disclosure of the conviction, the petitioner must state that per penal codeXXX (the code which allows for expungment)this/these conviction(s) are/or have been dismissed.
That I am told takes care of it for liscensure purpoeses.
Please consult an attorney if you have any questions
For any position with the state or where licensing is an issue--it still must generally be disclosed. Especially when it is considered a crime involving moral turpitude---forgery, crimes that deal with general dishonesty.
I checked (L.A. County) several years ago, so it's probably $100. now.
It's true that criminal records are still reported when applying for jobs requiring state or federal licenses, including teaching positions.
As for LE, their records show the conviction and that it was expunged but to them, once a criminal, always a criminal.
I was told that even after being expunged, when you apply for a job and they do a background check on you it will show what you have been arrested for, and that you case was dismissed pursuant to the expungemnt statute. Is that true. I talking about a job with a private company.
Thanks
I discussed this earlier. To the best of my knowledge(my information coming from a law professor,and the paralegal/clerk at the public defenders office), private companies do not or perhaps I should say should not have access to this information once the conviction has been expunged.
In theory at least, the whole purpose behind expungment(as it was explained to me)is to give the "non- career" criminal a break. To give the individual the right to say legitamatly say "no" when asked about any prior misconduct.
Unfortunatly, there are some business owners in California at least who are politically connected, and as such have computer access to information most business cant get. I know this because I worked for one.
In theory at least applying to a private company, you should be able to say "no". My advice is to ask you attorney
That they will be able to see what I was arrested for. I can explain disturbing the peace (loud drunk one night) its a little harder to explain solicitation prostititution. Especially to the female dominated HR staff that has a pretty heavy say as to who gets hired.
I'm just wondering what my records says at this point.
Arrested: Prostitution
Charged: Disturbing the peace
My lawyer told me to do a background check on myself in 6 months and then once again after expungement.
What do job applications in Calif. ask for, arrest history or conviction history? After my record is expunged will my arrest record be expunged as well?
In my experience, job applications ask (if they ask at all) if you have ever been convicted of a felony. Occasionally, I have seen applications ask for misdemeanors as well.
You have to understand that there is a certain amount of bluffing going on in the hiring process. In my experience not all companies do a background check, depending on the job. So much of this is only to intimidate you.
Although I know you are anxious, I would follow your attorneys advice.
Good luck
p.s If you want email me at [email protected] and we can discuss this further.
What if you move from CA to lets say AZ. Will AZ companies have access to your criminal records when they do a search using ur ssn???