Expungement of an Orange County DUIConviction
Pursuant to Penal Code 1203.4
People who have been convicted of a DUI in California have an opportunity to "sanitize"
their record for employment purposes. California law has provisions that allow for
expungement (the sealing of criminal records so it is not publicly available) of
the conviction. It is important to know that there are exceptions to this rule and
an experienced Orange County DUI attorney is in the best position to inform you
of your rights concerning your individual circumstances.
Under California’s Penal Code Section 1203.4, misdemeanor DUI convictions can be
expunged. Penal Code Section 1203.4 states in part:
"[DUI offender shall]...be permitted by the court to withdraw his or her plea of
guilty or plea of nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or, if he or she
has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court shall set aside the verdict
of guilty; and, in either case, the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusations
or information against the defendant and except as noted below, he or she shall
thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense
of which he or she has been convicted, except as provided..."
What does this mean? People who are eligible for this kind of expungement can hire
a lawyer to go back into court after their probation is over. The attorney will
ask the court to change a guilty plea or "no contest" plea to a “not guilty plea.
In order for an expungement to be granted the individual:
- Must no longer be on probation
- Must have met all the terms and conditions of their probation
- Must have paid all fines
- Fulfilled all community service
- Fulfilled the required custody time
- Pay any restitution owed if property damage was involved
- Etc.
When is a person not eligible for an Expungement?
When they:
- Are still serving a sentence for a criminal offense
- Are still on formal
or informal probation for any offense,
- Are currently being charged with the
any crime
- Had their probation revoked and not reinstated
- Were arrested
and convicted of a new crime within 1 year of the former judgment
- Have an outstanding
warrant for arrest
- Failed to appear or pay fees/fines to the Department of Motor Vehicles
- There
are a few more reasons that your attorney will advise you on
The main reason for expunging a record of DUI conviction is for employment purposes.
Once the offense has been expunged, a future employer may no longer hold the DUI
against you in hiring or promotion. You no longer have to disclose the fact of the
DUI conviction on job applications.
However, the expungement does not protect you in all employment situations. The
expungement of your conviction does not affect your responsibility to disclose the
conviction when applying for state licenses, when running for public office or applying
for teaching credentials. Also, the state license board is allowed to use a DUI
conviction (even after the expungement) against you in deciding whether to grant
or renew a license or credential.
But overall the expungement process has a very positive effect on the life of someone
who has a DUI conviction on their record. If you or a loved one has fulfilled all
of the terms of probation in Orange County, you may be eligible for an expungementpursuant
to Penal Code 1203.4. Contact the law offices of Coffey and Coffey at (800) 706-7888.
Let us help you repair your reputation today.