CLEAN YOUR RECORD

Clean your record

You made a mistake.  You paid for it.  You learned your lesson.  Why should it ruin your life forever?  It doesn’t have to.

It’s possible to get your record cleaned and get your criminal record expunged.  Once you’ve completed the punishment for your crime, California law provides a process for you to seek to clean your criminal record, so that you stop suffering all the ill after-effects of your conviction.

Once your record is cleaned, you do not have to disclose your criminal conviction when applying for jobs or housing.  If you are dealing with a past conviction, you know that your punishment doesn’t end with completing your sentence or probation and paying your fines.  Society continues to hammer you for your mistake long after you’ve paid your debt for the conviction.  An expungement can give you your life back.

The laws concerning expungement can be confusing, and a lot of discretion is given to judges in expungement cases.  The process to receive an expungement and get a clean record is paperwork intensive and even small mistakes can result in the expungement request being denied.  It’s important to hire a law firm like The Smalls Law Firm who has the experience to understand and navigate the complicated process to give you back your freedom.

Not everyone convicted of crimes can expect to be approved for expungement.  Those convicted of misdemeanors and have successfully completed their probation without committing further crimes are good candidates for expungement.  In some cases, even individuals convicted of felonies can have their cases reclassified as a misdemeanor, which might them make them eligible for expungement. 

Are you eligible for expungement?

In general, California law allows expungement for a misdemeanor or felony conviction as long as:

1. You have completed probation
2. You are not currently on probation, incarcerated, or have a pending criminal charge against you
3. You were not sentenced to prison rather than jail (although in some cases this can be challenged and overcome)
4. Were not convicted of certain sex crimes against children

It’s even possible to get expungement in some cases if you violated probation while serving out that probation.  Much of the expungement decision is left to the judge’s discretion, especially when it comes to reducing a felony to a misdemeanor, excusing probation violations, or deciding whether to grant someone who served in state prison rather than county jail an exemption.

Get your life back!  Call Derrick Smalls today!