Q: Is a felony conviction reduced ?filed to exspunge ,judge changed orig plea/of no contest/to not guilty&Dismissed .
Non violent crime , driving w/out owners consent . fulfilled all obligation .got 10mths local p.d trusty and 3yrs probation. 34 month on probation accused of writing a personel check,account in my name for insufficent fund. Since still on probation I recieved 10mnths house arrest & 3yrs prob. This finished in 2003. In 2007 I went back to court and asked for exspungment . Judge said because of a suspended sentence he couldnt but what he could do is change my original plea to not guilty and dismiss all cases. Does this remove the felony convictions ? thank u
A: It might, but I would need more information as to what exactly the court did since he couldn't expunger under PC 1203.4 because of the suspended prison sentence.
A: It is unclear from the information you provided what it was the judge actually did. Ordinarily, if you were granted probation, and probation was terminated on its own terms, then you would be eligible for relief under PC 1203.4, commonly called an expungement. It is not actually an expungement because it does not remove your criminal record. The legal effect of the PC 1203.4 relief is to have your plea of guilty withdrawn and your case dismissed. That sounds like what happened.
A: A so-called "expungement" doesn't really expunge anything; it's a dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4, which adds a notation to the court's records saying the case was dismissed after successful completion of probation. It DOES NOT remove the felony from your record, and it specifically DOES NOT allow you to possess firearms, among other things. Note that one of the other posted answers is incorrect: the suspended prison sentence doesn't prevent the judge from granting a 1203.4 dismissal (as long as you didn't violate probation and actually get sent to prison). Suspending a prison sentence WOULD prevent you from getting certain felonies, known as "wobblers," reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
