Expunge Your DUI

If you’re arrested and charged with a DUI in the state of California, it is highly likely that the incident will go on your criminal record, or “rap sheet”. However, there is the possibility that you can get a DUI charged expunged. An expungement has different definitions in every state, but generally it is a formal process of deleting or clearing a DUI charge from your record. However, due to the drunk driving laws being different in each state, it’s important to consult with a drunk driving defense attorney to get help with your DUI case.

In the state of California you can get the DUI charge expunged after completion of probation. However, keep in mind that a DUI charge or conviction in California will not necessarily be removed permanently from your criminal record. Furthermore, if you have a second DUI charge within ten years, the first DUI incident could still be used as prior conviction. For example, if DUI #1 is expunged but later the person is charged with another DUI (#2), it will still be considered a second offense.

Benefits of a DUI Expungement in California

So what then are the benefits of a DUI expungement if it can’t be completely removed from your record?

1. The current case will be dismissed by the court

2. You do not have disclose the DUI charge when applying for a job with a private employer. However, if applying for any government or state-related position, it must be disclosed.

Originally published here.

Once again I am writing on expunging your Florida criminal history record. A quick review is in order. First, you may only expunge a criminal history if the charge was dropped, dismissed, or you were found not guilty and there are no other convictions on the record nor do they have  aprevious expungement.. That is it! There are other siutations involving a withhold of ajudication, then sealing for 10 years and then expunging. These are different and really are not pertinent to the discussion.

As a lawyer I always thought ( and actually still do) that the more a former criminal defendant can clean up his or her record the better off he/she would be. As such I always advise the expungment process either through retaining a lawyer (very expensive) or obtaining the materials from the website www.expungemyfloridaarrest.com (not expensive at all) and completing the paperwork by one’s self. It really isn’t all that difficult to do and an individual will achieve the same results. However, last fall I handled an expungement for a client who had been arrested for a felony that was subsequently downfiled to a misdemeanor. She had entered into a pre-trial diversion program (PTI) and completed the program without difficulty. The necessary paperwork was completed and the certificate of eligibility obtained from The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The petition was filed with the certificate attached. The judge granted the petition.

Good, right ! Well yes ,but a couple of days later I checked the public website and her name and case information was still there. I checked a week later and they still had not been removed. Upon making a few telephone calls I learned that budget cuts had slowed everything down. Yes, the judge had signed the order but there was a backlog and it would take some more time. Now, it gets better. I spoke to senior supervisor in the clerk’s office who told me that she was of the opinion that an expungement is not as important as it used to be (not that her opinion matters). Why I asked, she responded that major coprorations and some minor corporations are purchasing  court records including arrest records on a monthly basis. As such they have the names, addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates and in some cases social security security numbers ( they are supposed to be redacted before being released) of individuals who have been arrested.

What this would mean is that supposed you are arrested, charges droppped and the record is later expunged. You apply for a job a Wackadoo Widget Company and the application asks whether you have ever been arrested for a crime. You check the “no” box. Wackadoo Widget Company does a background check through the F.D.L.E. and comes up clean. However, Wackadoo, always worried that someone may take a widget, contacts a company that compiles data on individuals (data mining). This company has copes of the actual arrest record, because they bought it prior to the record being expunged. Wackadoo then might deny employment because they think you lied about being arrested (you didn’t, because once a record is expunged you can deny the arrest). They may even give you a chance to explain. But who knows what they might do.

I am still of the opinion that cleaning up one’s arrest record is a good thing to do. If you are eligible for an expungement then by all means do not wait. For those of you wanting more information please visit www.expungemyfloridaarrest.com.

Originally published here.

California expungement laws can, at times, be confusing and convoluted. California Penal Code Section 1203.4 supplies the most typical criminal expungement relief for California citizens. Because of this part of the penal code, individuals granted relief in line with this specific code section is discharged from practically all penalties and disabilities arising out of conviction in every case by which the man or woman has successfully finished probation. The individual could very wellhandle the criminal arrest as well as following proceedingsas if they never took place.

Technically, what takes place any time an person expunges his record is his conviction or plea of guilt is set aside by a California courts judge, a plea of not-guilty is noted in its place, and the conviction is entered into the official legal record as a dissmissal. The law permits misdemeanor or felony convictions to be officially expunged in cases where the offender had been only prescribed a sentence of probation, formal or informal, in lieu of state prison time. If you had been sent to state prison then alternative solutions are available such as a a governor’s pardon.

Regardless of what Penal Code 1203.4 presents, a person who properly files a motion for an expungement order may perhaps be shocked to learn how very little relief they have been given. That’s because California criminal expungement law is usually a great deal more known for the relief it doesn’t always furnish compared to the relief it does . First, the record of an the expunged conviction moves on to be presented to law enforcement officials and the public. The expunged conviction continues to display in both California and the Federal Burea of Investigation criminal data. In addition, if convicted of a succeeding criminal activity, the expunged conviction is generally applied to increase any required sentence. PC 1203.4 in addition specifically provides that DUI crimes can be utilized to raise future DUI criminal sentences. Having said that, you will discover quite a few positive aspects that criminal record expungement does provide as well, the least of which is the satisfaction you obtain in legally eliminating a previous error behind you for good. You can tell family, friends and potential employers that you have never been convicted of crime. Believe it or not on most criminal background checks completed by private organisations, your criminal past will not appear since many private employer criminal background checks are geared towards solely sharing convictions, and not .

Criminal Record Expungement In California, Do’s And Dont’s

Los Angeles Expungement 101

Originally published here.