Expungement Assessment
Although California follows the national trend of giving people a second chance when it comes to clearing a criminal record, there are certain scenarios where doing so simply is not possible. For those situations, petitioning the courts for a certificate of rehabilitation is the best step you can take and a valuable one as well.
Free Expungement AssessmentWill the legal system give a felon a second chance in life? Yes, in certain situations. Unfortunately, the laws of the state are written by politicians who rarely are willing to risk looking “soft on crime.” As a result, the specific situations in which you can and cannot get a mulligan are defined by rather odd issues such as whether you spent time in a county jail versus a state prison.
Felons who ended up in state prison to serve their debt to society cannot have their criminal records expunged. The law is clear in this regard and even talented attorneys such as those in our firm can’t circumvent this rule. All is not lost as there is an alternative to the expungement process.
A felon who has served time in prison may be barred from seeking an expungement of their criminal record. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything they can do. One can petition the courts for what is known as a certificate of rehabilitation. This document does not remove criminal convictions from your record. Instead, it is added to your record and explains that the court has essentially found that you have turned the corner and become an upstanding, productive member of society. This certificate is then added to your record.
It might be easy to discount the value of a certificate of rehabilitation at first glance. This would be a mistake – a big one. The certificate is very valuable for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it acts as a counterweight to the negative marks that are going to appear when a potential employer does a background check on you. Most people don’t care for criminals, but everyone has a soft spot for someone who is truly trying to turn their life around. The certificate shows you are such a person, which could be the difference between getting or not getting a job.
Then there are more practical matters. Consider a divorce proceeding. When considering child custody matters, you can be sure that an ex-spouse will bring any criminal history you have to the attention of the family law judge. Having the ability to present that judge with a certificate of rehabilitation from another judge will put an end to that attack, particular since the family law judge probably personally knows the criminal law judge who signed the certificate! This can be the difference between getting custody of your kids or not.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention one additional benefit to the certificate of rehabilitation. When a court grants the certificate, a request for pardon is automatically sent to the Governor of California. These pardons are granted sparingly, but Governors have been known to grant them in mass during their last few days in office. You could be included in that act. Still, this is not the primary reason one seeks a certificate.
As you can imagine, the courts are not just handing out these rehabilitation certificates. The petition and hearing process has to be handled with a deft touch. Part and parcel to them, it is vital to show the following to have any chance of being issued the certificate:
The first four of these requirements are pro forma in that you either meet them or you don’t. The fifth, however, is another matter. We work with our clients to establish a foundation of evidence to show the presiding judge that you have become a productive member of society beyond a shadow of a doubt. This evidence usually includes sworn testimony from employers, civic group leaders such as ministers, parole officers and anyone else who is willing to stand up for you. Documentation is often used to supplement the testimony so that there is no means for the state to credibly argue against the issuance of the certificate.
Our attorneys have litigated cases spanning a multitude of subject matters
Handled more than 500+ Expungement cases over the past 10 years.
Our fees are reasonable and competitive. You usually do not need to appear in court.
Our experienced attorneys will speed up expungement process. We make sure that your case is done right the first time.
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