When can I apply for an expungement?
If you meet the other eligibility requirements, you may petition the court to expunge your California criminal record as soon as you have completed probation, or as soon as a early termination of probation is granted. Many times, your California criminal defense lawyer can expedite the expungement process by “packaging” a number of motions into one. The most common example of this includes asking the court to • grant an early termination of probation (which the court has the option of granting as long as you are in compliance with the terms of your probation), • reduce a felony to a misdemeanor (in cases where the felony offense is classified as a “wobbler”that is, a charge that the prosecutor could have filed as either a felony or a misdemeanor), and • expunge your conviction all in the same proceeding.
