Sealing Your Arrest Record
An Arrest record can be a burden, a new law passed in January 2018 allows people to petition the court to have their arrest records sealed.
Marijuana Convictions and Prop 64
Prior to the passage of Prop 64, many marijuana crimes were classified as felonies and misdemeanors. Under the new laws put into place after the passage of Prop 64 by California voters, many of these prior felony and misdemeanor crimes are now reclassified as...
Update: Recreational Marijuana Growing in Butte County
I posted ideas back in November 2016 speculating on how Butte County would regulate recreational marijuana growing and I would like to update you all on what Butte County came up with since then to regulate your "rights." The code section regulating recreational...
Misdemeanor Statute of Limitations
If you were arrested for a crime but the DA never ended up filing charges against you, you may be wondering if they ever will. You may also be wondering how long it will be before the DA is barred from filing charges. The statute of limitations is a law that says...
UPDATE: Misdemeanor Pretrial Military Diversion for DUIs
In my previous post regarding Penal Code section 1001.80 pretrial/ pre-plea military diversion, I wrote about a California Court of Appeals decision (VanVleck) holding that military diversion is unavailable to military veterans and current service members charged with...
Reducing a Felony to a Misdemeanor
Who's Eligible? The court's authority to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor comes from Penal Code section 17(b). If a person has been convicted of a felony that is a "wobbler" (a legalese term for a crime that could be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony), and that...
Prop 64 Resentencing for Marijuana Crimes
Prop 64 Allows People Convicted of Certain Marijuana Offenses to be Resentenced and Have Their Offense Reduced or Invalidated! Good news! If you were convicted of one of many marijuana crimes prior to the passage of Prop 64 (Nov. 2016), you may be eligible to have...
Veterans Diversion Under Penal Code 1170.9
Introduction In addition to pre-plea military diversion under Penal Code section 1001.80 for those charged with a misdemeanor offense, PC 1170.9 provides post-plea military diversion for those charged with probation eligible felonies and misdemeanors. Thus, 1170.9...
Infraction Expungement, Can This be Done?
Infraction expungement is possible, with the exception of most traffic infractions (like speeding tickets). This means for example that if you were cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol as an infraction, or for shoplifting as an infraction, you could get...
Butte County Juvenile Record Sealing
Juvenile Record Sealing In an age where increased competition means finding every possible way to set yourself apart from others, having a juvenile record can be fatal not only to your employment opportunities, but also your academic advancement, state licensing, and...