About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


24 Whittier L. Rev. 1077 (2002-2003)
Defining a Successful Completion of Probation under California's Expungement Statute

handle is hein.journals/whitlr24 and id is 1103 raw text is: DEFINING A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PROBATION UNDER CALIFORNIA'S EXPUNGEMENT STATUTE I. INTRODUCTION One of the real heartaches for criminal lawyers arises from working for defendants with otherwise clean records, who have been convicted of some rash act of petty shoplifting, a battery in the heat of passion, or a nonviolent offense relating to sexual deviation.1 These defendants will go through life branded as an outsider as long as this single blemish remains on their record.2 For these individuals, the real disability resulting from the conviction is the effect it has on chances for employment, economic advancement, disfranchisement, and professional license revocation.3 California provides two methods for mitigating ... the collateral effects of a conviction after punishment has been completed.4 The first method available to an offender who has been imprisoned is a petition for executive pardon.5 The second method, available to an offender who has not been imprisoned, is a petition to have the conviction dismissed and the penalties released under California's expungement statute. Pursuant to California Penal Code Section 1203.4, a defendant who has been granted probation, can petition the court to expunge the record after satisfactorily completing the terms of probation. 1. Lawrence R. Booth, The Expungement Myth, 38 L.A. Bar Assn. Bull. 161, 162- 63 (1963). 2. See id. at 163-66. 3. Id. at 163; Thomas W. Dobson, The Effect of Expungement on a Criminal Conviction, 40 S. Cal. L. Rev. 127, 128 (1967). 4. Dobson, supra n. 3, at 128. 5. Id. 6. Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 1203.4(a) (West 1982 & Supp. 2002). 7. Id. 1077