Expungement – Conviction Relief

Many crimes in California are strictly charged according to the stringent laws enforced in the state. However, there are occasions when the alleged offender or defendant is wrongly charged. A skilled and experienced San Diego criminal defense lawyer like the one at the Law Offices of Thomas P. Matthews may be hired to request for the charge to be expunged so that the name of the defendant would be cleared off the record. This is highly desired by offenders who are charged and convicted by the court as ‘criminals’ with a permanent criminal record that is detrimental to the future of the defendants.Criminal expungement legal services are available in California by qualified and experienced defense lawyers specializing in criminal cases and expungement. An Expungement refers to the legal petitioning process to the court for a review of a criminal conviction that leaves a criminal record on the offender’s history.

An expungement could be accorded by the court as requested by the defense lawyer if:

The offender has completed the probation successfully without incident
A year has passed since the court conviction with the punishment enforced
All fines and restitutions, as well as reimbursements, have been settled
The offender is not convicted of another offense
The offender is not on probation for another offense

The California court could permit the case to be expunged from the defendant’s record which refers to a dismissal of the case from legal records. It is likened to a free man without any traces of guilt or criminal charge imposed on the defendant. The California Penal Code Section 1203.4 on expunged criminal cases allows the defendant to petition the court for the criminal charge to be dismissed, retracted or withdrawn with the criminal record expunged in all official listings.

This would mean that the court would set aside the guilty verdict from the previous hearing and sentencing. All accusations of the case against the defendant would be dismissed and the defendant would be released from all punishments, sentencing or penalties arising from the offense committed tried and convicted.

The defendant whose criminal records are expunged could respond to anyone confidently that he/she has never been convicted of a crime. However, Government employees, as well as Government Licensing applications, have the right to know about the expunged criminal records.