Getting misdemeanors off your record

[Gothic Girl]

A friend of mine back in 1993 received a misdemeanor minor in
possesion of alchohol 1 week prior to his 21st birthday. Then in 2002
received a misdemeanor battery charge and vandalism charge during a
fight. The battery was dropped and he plead guilty to vandalism. He
is currently on an informal probation for 3 years ending June 15,
2005. All 3 of these charges come up on his criminal record and makes
it difficult when applying for work. All 3 of these charges occured in
San Diego County 1 at San Diego court and the other 2 in El Cajon
court. Does anyone know how he would go about expunging these offenses from his record and can it be done while he has about 6 months left of his informal probation. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ShawnLee]

Mind you, I'm no lawyer. And even if I were, you should still take this with a grain of salt. A large grain.

The only thing that I know of to do is to go to the court where all this happened, and ask for it to be taken care of there. I'm guessing that, if possible, the judge or commissioner who originally took care of these matters might be the best to see about these.

[Hypnotist]

I am not an attorney and any advice that I provide is not to be construed as legal council in any way.

That being said... prior to hiring an attorney, my advice is to research California Law via the Nolo legal publishing group:http://www.nolo.com/ (http://) . I've used their educational materials in the past for unrelated legal matters and find them to be the best for preliminary research. They offer a wide range of publications; both books and software.

Next, for a very nominal fee, you may seek advice at Just Answer. This is a great site for a question such as yours. Knowledgeable people from myriad backgrounds earn "lunch money" by helping others. I've asked there before and received excellent information. Information that I never found via free discussion forums (auto repair question). There are many folks there (legal secretaries, para-legals, lawyers) that can offer suggestions on how It's REALLY done. Their site address is:http://www.justanswer.com//home.asp (http://) .

Your friend may or may not choose to hire an attorney at this time... that's a choice he'll have to make. It will be an easier choice however, if he educates himself as much as he will before moving into court contact or the documentation phase of this process. In all probability he will need to at least consult with one down the line. Have him begin networking now (through trustworthy friends and family) for recommendations.

This will be a start. Gain some knowledge as you are doing now and when the time comes to make the legal moves, you'll both be much more comfortable as a result of the preparation... not to mention knowing whether the attorney is advising you the best he/she can. Remember, we are own our best keepers... next to God. Good luck to the both of you!

Knowledge is power...Wisdom is knowing how best to use both.

[brainsmile]

oh ufcrusher... I think no one will really pay attention to the misdemeanors if he gets caught for a felony.

I'd say like others... take it with a grain of salt.

[InfiniteNothing]

Just wondering but why would these charges be taken off his record? We have records for a reason. If everyone had theirs removed they'd be useless.

[couch potato2]

Just wondering but why would these charges be taken off his record? We have records for a reason. If everyone had theirs removed they'd be useless.
Well it appears this person is not a habitual and heinous criminal and the law does permit expungement of certain offenses not all. It is not automatically expunged. Why should this person be held accountable for a crime that was dismissed like the Battery charge? Why would a dismissed charge remain on his record? Yes we have records for a reason. Do you think records of someone wrongfully accused or dismissed should affect someone for the rest of their life. Driving infractions last on your record forever but can only be held against you for 3 years and 10 years for a commercial driver for employment purposes. Driving infractions are expungeable on new offenses once every 18 months by attending traffic school.

[Gothic Girl]

Well it appears this person is not a habitual and heinous criminal and the law does permit expungement of certain offenses not all. It is not automatically expunged. Why should this person be held accountable for a crime that was dismissed like the Battery charge? Why would a dismissed charge remain on his record? Yes we have records for a reason. Do you think records of someone wrongfully accused or dismissed should affect someone for the rest of their life. Driving infractions last on your record forever but can only be held against you for 3 years and 10 years for a commercial driver for employment purposes. Driving infractions are expungeable on new offenses once every 18 months by attending traffic school.

Sing it brother!

Anyway, thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. I'm sure some of this will help my friend out

[Hypnotist]

couch potato2 said:
Well it appears this person is not a habitual and heinous criminal and the law does permit expungement of certain offenses not all. It is not automatically expunged. Why should this person be held accountable for a crime that was dismissed like the Battery charge? Why would a dismissed charge remain on his record? Yes we have records for a reason. Do you think records of someone wrongfully accused or dismissed should affect someone for the rest of their life.

Well said!

[InfiniteNothing]

Well it appears this person is not a habitual and heinous criminal and the law does permit expungement of certain offenses not all. It is not automatically expunged. Why should this person be held accountable for a crime that was dismissed like the Battery charge? Why would a dismissed charge remain on his record? Yes we have records for a reason. Do you think records of someone wrongfully accused or dismissed should affect someone for the rest of their life. Driving infractions last on your record forever but can only be held against you for 3 years and 10 years for a commercial driver for employment purposes. Driving infractions are expungeable on new offenses once every 18 months by attending traffic school.

Okay, I agree about the crime where they dropped the charges but how do you justify the removal of the other two charges. The record shows that he's not a habitual criminal as the dates of these crimes are on the record as well. I mean, what if these records are dropped, he commits a similar crime and gets off because "there's no record"?

[blueindian]

I mean, what if these records are dropped, he commits a similar crime and gets off because "there's no record"?

In certain situations, and I don't know the whole deal here, things can be "off your record" as far as a criminal background check by an employer goes, but still "on your record" as far as the courts are concerned. in other words, the judge still knows about it but a general background check won't show it.

[InfiniteNothing]

In certain situations, and I don't know the whole deal here, things can be "off your record" as far as a criminal background check by an employer goes, but still "on your record" as far as the courts are concerned. in other words, the judge still knows about it but a general background check won't show it.

Huh. Good to know. I didn't know that. Still, I wuoldn't want him to be the nanny of my children.

[couch potato2]

Thats absolutely true. It never comes off your record completely, law enforcement and judges can view it, but prospective employeers and stuff will not be able to view it. Certain crimes like sex crimes and violent crimes and most felonies are not expungeable.