A criminal conviction may adversely affect your legal rights, economic opportunities, and social situation. Many individuals discover the problems a criminal record creates when they are trying to move forward in their lives --applying for a job, license, or entrance to higher education. If you have been convicted of a crime in California, it is important that you consult an attorney to determine whether your criminal records can be expunged. Because the law often imposes time limitations on pursuing one’s legal rights and remedies, it is important to determine as soon as possible whether expungement is available well before one's past history will be reviewed or questioned. It may be too late once an important opportunity or right is lost.

The following are just a few of the situations where a criminal record can adversely affect your life.

The following explanations may answer some of your questions:

WHAT IS AN EXPUNGEMENT? An expungement, or sealing, of a criminal record is a short legal process that can clear criminal convictions from a person's record. An expungement takes place when a legal action filed with the court in which the conviction occurred and a request is made to have the criminal conviction reversed, set aside or dismissed. This process applies to most misdemeanor and minor felony cases. There are alternative ways to set aside a conviction for serious felonies.

NOTE: Not all convictions can be expunged.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF AN EXPUNGEMENT? The purpose of an expungement is to clear a history of criminal charges (adult and juvenile), that might adversely affect your chances of employment or education.

HOW LONG DOES AN EXPUNGEMENT TAKE?MISDEMEANORS: Most expungements for misdemeanors take between 2 to 4 weeks to complete from the time the application is filed. This does not include the time needed to research all records and process the application. The more prepared you are as to the information needed (dates, charges, court location, etc.) the quicker the application can be processed. If it is necessary to search the court records for information, it may take additional time.

FELONY EXPUNGEMENTS AND FELONY REDUCTIONS TO MISDEMEANORS: Most expungements of felony convictions generally take 4 to 6 weeks to complete from the time the application is filed. This is called a Certificate of Rehabilitation. Some felonies that cannot be expunged can be reduced to misdemeanors, this process also takes approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Again, this is based upon receipt of all of the pertinent information by our office. A court search of records for information will take significantly longer.

SEALING OF JUVENILE RECORDS: The average time required to have the records of a juvenile sealed, depending upon information received and court location, is 2 to 6 weeks.

If you would like more information about how Mr. Sands can help to clear your criminal record, please contact him today by using our convenient contact form, call his office at (877) BGS-CRIMLYR (877-247-2746) or by visiting his other website dedicated to California expungements.