The Expungement section, California Penal Code section 1203.4 et seq., is a valuable tool in record clean up. Here in Vista and North County, an expungement allows you to withdraw your guilty plea, enter a not guilty and get your case dismissed after completion of probation or after 1 year if probation was not granted. There are some charges that cannot be expunged, like child molest. It does improve your record but has some limitations. It is really like a good behavior dismissal. It does not seal your record and the conviction may still show on background checks, but it will also indicate that the charge was dismissed per P.C. 1203.4. It does not allow you to possess a firearm if it was prohibited as a result of the your conviction. The offense can also still be used as a prior for enhancing future similar offenses. There are also other benefits.
It usually takes about 4-8 weeks and requires the filing of a formal petition for Expungement with the Court, serving the District Attorney and a Judicial determination to grant or deny the petition. If there were absolutely no violations of probation or probation was terminated early, it should be granted. Many felonies can be expunged and reduced to misdemeanors, then you also will no longer have a felony conviction. Most of the time, even if there are issues, an experienced expungement attorney can address those issues and get the dismissal granted. Christoph Law Office has been handling record clean-up for over 30 years, call us @ 760-941-5720 to review your case at no charge.