Cleaning your Record
As with any profession, people who are dedicated and working in the business will have a specialized knowledge that is crucial for a successful outcome. Especially having to deal with the legal system, you should always contact an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney. When you have been convicted of a crime, whether you have chosen to plead guilty or “no contest”, or have been found guilty by a judge or jury, California law allows you to clean up your record in various ways.
One of these ways to clean up your record is what is known as an expungement under Penal code section 1203.
4(a), depending on if you were placed on probation or your conviction resulted in a terminal sentence, this code section sets out the requirements for you to request an expungement. This code section sets out the time frames and conditions upon which you can successfully navigate through the process in obtaining an expungement. The court will also have discretion in granting a motion for expungement, if there were any violations of probation after your conviction.
It seems that you have been convicted and were placed on probation on this offense. To clean your record, first, you will need to get off of probation. The request to terminate your probation early is discretionary by the court. The court will not grant your expungement unless you are not on probation on any case.
You indicated that you have apparently started the process for a factual innocence motion under Penal Code section 851.8(a). This motion is for persons who have not been convicted of the crime and wish to have the arrest record sealed and destroyed, because they were factually innocent of the charges they were arrested for.
You would have to show by clear and convincing evidence that the police officer had no reasonable cause to arrest you for the crime alleged. This motion would not be possible, if you have already pled guilty or “no contest” to the crime and been sentenced.
You would be much better off, if you would come and sit down with an experienced criminal defense attorney who could go over these and potentially other avenues that might be available for you. Please contact us today and we can discuss how we can assist you further.
