Felony Expungements

Having a felony conviction on your record in California can have significant impact on your life. Many times, those with a felony do not realize the implications this can have on your future endeavors.

There are many issues that can arise from having a felony conviction on your record. Just a couple examples include:

Companies will often run a background check for employment. Having a felony conviction on your record can be a deal breaker.

Your criminal record may stop you from receiving child custody rights.

It’s a common misconception that felonies cannot be expunged, but felony expungements are the second most common type of expungement in California (behind misdemeanor expungements). At its core, an expungement is a legal process that petitions the Court to review a misdemeanor conviction after the fact. Your attorney will ask the court to determine if the petitioner is eligible to have the conviction retroactively dismissed. This process can be available even to those who entered a plea of guilty, or for whom the court found them guilty.

A felony expungement is certainly more complicated than a misdemeanor expungement, but there is plenty of overlap in the process. The complicated nature arises mainly from the severity of the crime, but also a stronger demonstration of remorse, rehabilitation, and need. Basically the standard of proof to show that it is in the interest of justice to grant an expungement is greater when it comes to felony convictions as the convictions were most often more serious.

The next step, again in Southern California especially, would be to fill out and file the proper paperwork in a timely manner. This can be a complicated process because many courts prefer the paperwork in slightly different ways, multiple copies need to be filled with either the DA’s office or city prosecutor, records need to be kept when oppositions and court dates come due, etc. And in many cases a physical appearance is required at the actual expungement hearing where the judge will need to hear why the expungement should be granted.

An example of a few felonies (with successful probation) that may be eligible for expungement include:

Two important things to consider before pursuing a felony expungement:

If you are still on probation in any case, you must also ask for early termination from probation, under Penal Code section 1203.3. There is no statewide form for this request, but a request can be written and filed with the court.

If you were convicted of a felony offense and served time in state prison, but the same offense is now punishable by a county jail sentence due to a change in the law, you can ask to have your felony conviction dismissed. It is up to the court whether or not to grant your petition. In most cases, there will need to be attached supporting documents to convince the court that granting your petition would be “in the interests of justice.”

There are certain felonies that can also be reduced to a misdemeanor based on Penal Code 17(b) and Prop 47. Under PC17(b) there are many crimes which are considered “wobblers,” or crimes that could be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor. In some cases, the court will grant a reduction from felony to misdemeanor depending on the circumstances of the conviction, severity of crime, and a number of other factors. An “expunged misdemeanor” is better than an “expunged felony” because it preserves certain rights and benefits that can be denied even to felons who have expunged their felony convictions. This is why many clients choose to first seek a PC 17(b) felony reduction and then pursue an expungement.”

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us for your free consultation!