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24 Whittier L. Rev. 1077 (2002-2003)
Defining a Successful Completion of Probation under California's Expungement Statute

handle is hein.journals/whitlr24 and id is 1103 raw text is: DEFINING A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF
PROBATION UNDER CALIFORNIA'S
EXPUNGEMENT STATUTE
I. INTRODUCTION
One of the real heartaches for criminal lawyers arises from
working for defendants with otherwise clean records, who have been
convicted of some rash act of petty shoplifting, a battery in the heat of
passion, or a nonviolent offense relating to sexual deviation.1 These
defendants will go through life branded as an outsider as long as this
single blemish remains on their record.2 For these individuals, the real
disability resulting from the conviction is the effect it has on chances
for employment, economic advancement, disfranchisement, and
professional license revocation.3
California provides two methods for mitigating ... the collateral
effects of a conviction after punishment has been completed.4 The
first method available to an offender who has been imprisoned is a
petition for executive pardon.5 The second method, available to an
offender who has not been imprisoned, is a petition to have the
conviction dismissed and the penalties released under California's
expungement statute.  Pursuant to California Penal Code Section
1203.4, a defendant who has been granted probation, can petition the
court to expunge the record after satisfactorily completing the terms of
probation.
1. Lawrence R. Booth, The Expungement Myth, 38 L.A. Bar Assn. Bull. 161, 162-
63 (1963).
2. See id. at 163-66.
3. Id. at 163; Thomas W. Dobson, The Effect of Expungement on a Criminal
Conviction, 40 S. Cal. L. Rev. 127, 128 (1967).
4. Dobson, supra n. 3, at 128.
5. Id.
6. Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 1203.4(a) (West 1982 & Supp. 2002).
7. Id.

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