If you have a juvenile record in California, you may be eligible to set it aside. To find out more about setting aside your juvenile record, read the answers to the most frequently asked questions below and check out our California juvenile set aside service. We can help you clear your record.
Simply click on a question to see its answer:
We will be glad to work with you to get a copy of your record and review what can be done. We charge a researching fee and we apply that to the cost of any service that you hire us to perform.
No, the exact disposition of your case does not matter. We can set aside your adjudication regardless of what you pled.
Honorable discharge means and includes people that are discharged based upon a good record on parole. (Wefare and Institutions Code 1772)
Cases are denied for the following reasons: (1) an inaccuracy in the court file, (2) an inaccuracy in the application, (3) the court does not believe a set aside will be in the interest of society, (4) probation was violated, or (5) fines were not fully paid.
Only certain federal cases are eligible to be expunged. Typically, you have to show that the conviction was wrongful or unconstitutional. Additionally, a person can apply for a pardon through the President. We do not handle federal cases.
No, we will go to court for you. If the court requests your presence and you are unable to attend, we will file a motion to excuse your appearance.
Typically, the case takes about six to eight months.
Our estimate is based on how long the average juvenile set aside case takes in California; however, each case is different. Factors affecting the length of the process include: the circumstances surrounding the case, whether the District Attorney is agreeing or objecting, and the amount of time that has passed since the incident. We work on your case as fast as we can and assist the court and District Attorney in anything they need to get your case heard.
If you would like to speed up the process, then we suggest that you go to the court and get your case documents. The court is reluctant to release juvenile court records to someone other than the juvenile and it takes longer to have them released to our office versus the juvenile in the case.
The courts work on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, the sooner you sign up, the sooner your case is heard and decided. If helpful, we will gladly write your employer or potential employer a letter letting them know we have reopened the case and are in the process of having it set aside. However, if you would like to speed up the process then you can go to the court and pull the records yourself and that will speed the process up by a few weeks.
If the case is denied, we evaluate the reason for the denial and determine the best way to proceed. An option may be to refile with more evidence, and we will let you know if any evidence in particular would be helpful.
We are unable to offer a money back guarantee because the process involves a substantial amount of preparation and sometimes several appearances in court by our attorneys. We cannot afford to offer this low of a price and a money back guarantee.
The court does not automatically set aside, expunge, or seal the records of someone committed to the California Youth Authority. Once a California Youth Authority record is set aside, the offender is "released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense or crime for which he or she was committed” as a matter of law. (CA Welfare and Institutions Code section 1772)
If your juvenile case is set aside, your record will show that the juvenile conviction has been set aside and your case has been dismissed. If the employer is only searching for convictions, then the case should not appear because your case will be dismissed and no longer considered a conviction.
Yes. After your record has been set aside, the conviction can be used for impeachment purposes in a subsequent case or as a subsequent strike pursuant to the Three Strikes Law. (Penal Code 677(d)(3) and CA Evidence Code 788)
You can truthfully say you were not convicted to any question for employment. The case may be viewed on a more extensive background checks, but your record will appear as a dismissed case and not a conviction, which will certainly increase your chances of securing employment.
If you want to join the US military, then your record becomes a matter of federal law, not California state law. All branches of the military will want to know about your juvenile offenses, even if they have been set aside or expunged. There is still a risk of being discharged from the military if you don’t tell them and they later find out about your record.
"Juvenile convictions, even those that would amount to a felony as an adult, are not covered under California Government Code section 1029, and are therefore not an automatic bar to appointment as a peace officer." (CA POST Background Investigation Manual: Guidelines for the Investigator, 3-1). However, among the minimum standards of being a police officer is possession of good moral character. Cal. Govt. Code § 1031(d). A thorough background check will be conducted to determine if you meet the minimum standard. Setting aside you juvenile conviction under Welfare and Institutions Code section 1772 does not allow you to refuse to acknowledge the circumstances of the conviction, nor will your record be sealed. (Cal. Wel. & Inst. Code § 1772 (2009)). Any act from your past discovered during the background check that reflects poorly on your moral character, including any record of criminal conduct as a juvenile, may be grounds for a determination that you lack good moral character and may result in denial of employment as a police officer. (CA POST Reg. § 1953, (a),(e)). Setting aside your juvenile will improve your chances of proving good moral character and getting hired,because obtaining that relief shows that a court has found you to be rehabilitated.
Many courts and probation officers do not disclose juvenile cases, but if the employer does receive information regarding the case then they will see that the judge set it aside.