Expungement of your Carlsbad criminal record at the Vista Courts, can help minimize its impact on any background check or application for employment, education and licensing. It is definitely a positive that it was expunged over just leaving it as a conviction. It shows you care about your record. While you may have made a mistake, you completed probation and a Court authorized the dismissal. Expungement is explained in California Penal Code 1203.4 et seq, It is available for most misdemeanors and felonies. An expungement dismissal is available after probation is completed or after 1 year if there was no probation. It has some limitations but does help minimize the impact of a conviction. You cannot seal an adult record, it will show the charge dismissed per the section P.C. 1203.4. There are also other benefits.
It requires a formal petition for Expungement with the Vista Court. The D.A. must be served and has a chance to oppose it if there were violations or other grounds. After the D.A. reponse, a Judge can make the decision, even over objection, to grant the dismissal. With no probation violations, it should be granted. While each case may be different, if there are issues then it is important to show the Court why it should be granted, why it is important, and what you have done with your life since the conviction. 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.