California uses Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4 for setting aside a guilty verdict and dismissing the case. The statute’s own verbs are set-aside and dismissal. That is the relief people ask for when they say expungement. The statute says: “they have 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, the defendant shall thereafter be…”
Appellate readings
The People v. Rick Parker, 217 Cal. App. 4th 498 (2013) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “Section 1203.4 provides that upon a successful termination of probation, the defendant may petition to set aside the conviction.”
Lawrence S. Krain v. Medical Board OF California, 84 Cal. Rptr. 2d 586 (1999) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “The evolution of Senate Bill No. 1775 clarifies that the revisions which that bill ultimately made to section 2236 were not intended to change the consequences of a misdemeanor conviction even if the trial court had set aside the conviction under the authority of Penal Code section 1203.4.”
A practical sequence
- Open Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4 and read the part on setting aside a guilty verdict and dismissing the case. Everything else in the filing has to fit that section.
- Ask the clerk which local form that California county uses, then check the form against Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4.
- Then read The People v. Rick Parker, 217 Cal. App. 4th 498 (2013). That is a California court already applying this kind of request.
Frequently asked questions
How do you expunge a criminal record in California?
On setting aside a guilty verdict and dismissing the case, the California text is Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4. The statute’s own verbs are set-aside and dismissal. That is the relief people ask for when they say expungement. The statute says: “they have 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, the defendant shall thereafter be…”
How have California courts ruled on expungement?
The People v. Rick Parker, 217 Cal. App. 4th 498 (2013) “Section 1203.4 provides that upon a successful termination of probation, the defendant may petition to set aside the conviction.”
Read Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4 in full before you file. A quotation on this page is a starting point, not the whole section.