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53 San Diego L. Rev. 369 (2016)
Sealing and Destruction of Criminal Records for the Factually Innocent: A Second Chance for California Penal Code Section 851.8

handle is hein.journals/sanlr53 and id is 389 raw text is: 














     Sealing and Destruction of Criminal

   Records for the Factually Innocent: A

   Second Chance for California Penal

                   Code Section 851.8







                            IRINA   FOX*




                         TABLE  OF CONTENTS

I. CRIMINAL RECORDS   AND THEIR EXPUNGEMENT IN GENERAL ................... 373
      A.   California Law Governing Criminal Record Retention
           and Dissemination .........................................................................373
      B.   Society's Interest in Preservation of Criminal Records ................. 377
      C.   Policy Justifying  Expungem ent ......................................................381
II.   PENAL CODE SECTION 851.8: PROCEDURE AND ITS APPLICATION............. 388
      A.   Procedure for Petitioners Arrested but Never Charged with
           a Crime ..........................................................................................390
      B.   Procedure for Petitioners Charged with a Crime
           but N ever  C onvicted .......................................................................39 1
       C . C o u rt  F iling  ................................................................................... 3 9 2
       D . The Factual Innocence H earing  ....................................................394
           1. Standard for a Finding of Factual Innocence and
              B urden of  P roof ......................................................................394
              a.  Definition of Reasonable Cause .................................395
              b.  Jury Acquittal Does Not Result in an Automatic
                  Finding of Factual Innocence ......................................... 398
              c.  Dismissal or Acquittal for Technical Reasons Does
                  Not Justify a Finding of Factual Innocence ....................399


    *   ( 2016 Irma Fox. Assistant Professor of Law, Creighton University School of
Law. Many thanks to Shane Beasley for the countless hours of research assistance, and to
Patrick Borchers, Raneta Mack, Richard Foreman, and Joseph Eden for their comments
on an earlier draft of this Article.


369

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