It starts out like a line from Shakespeare, but means a
great deal today in the California legal system. An expungement proceeding occurs when an
offender of a prior criminal conviction seeks that the records of that earlier
process be sealed, making the records unavailable through the state or Federal
repositories. Unfortunately, sealing of records was rescinded by statute in
California in 1982. Expungements now refer to ‘record clearances’. A record clearance withdraws the guilty plea
of conviction, and substitutes a not guilty plea in its place. This allows the
client to legally declare to prospective employers that yes, he was arrested,
but that was not guilty of the charge and the case was dismissed.
Some prospective employers are wise to this, but by law are
not supposed to discriminate against prospective employees having gotten this
remedy. Many of the big corporations hire investigators to examine court
records and pull the original arrest report. Unfortunately, this remedy, as
well as reducing the charges to misdemeanors, are all that can be done for
non-prison cases.
There is a very real distinction between an expungement and
a pardon. When an expungement is
granted, the person whose record is expunged may, for the most part, treat the
event as if the conviction never occurred.
A pardon does not erase the event, however it does constitute
“forgiveness”. Mostly, pardons are
granted by the California governor.
Getting an expungement is very real…and VERY possible! This is especially true if you have
California expungement attorney William Chestnut fighting for your side. Find out more about this process and if it
applies to you by contacting Bill Chestnut.
He fights for your cause from his office located in San Jose. Call him at (408) 298-6990.
