Protect Your Future From Past Mistakes

With the help of Reyes & Associates, individuals can clean up their criminal records through the following methods:
 

Reducing Felonies to Misdemeanors
Pursuant to California Proposition 47, passed in November 2014, a number of non-violent and non-serious felony crimes can be reclassified as misdemeanors. This means that individuals charged or convicted of a felony crime which is now a misdemeanor may be eligible for re-sentencing or reduced charges. Crimes that are eligible for resentencing include personal use of illegal drugs as well as various fraud and theft crimes where the stolen property is valued at no more than $950.

Another state law may also allow people convicted of certain felonies to have their charges reduced to misdemeanors if the offense is considered a “wobbler,” meaning it can be punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Probation Modification / Termination
Certain individuals may be able to have their probation terms modified or terminated early. Generally, this is possible when the defendant has completed at least two-thirds to three-fourths of their probation sentence and has met all requirements. Since a defendant cannot be on probation in order to be eligible for an expungement, probation termination can serve as a first step toward getting a conviction censored from their criminal record.

Expungement
Expungement is the process by which previous criminal convictions can be set aside and the case dismissed. Depending on the circumstances, expungements are available for certain individuals who have been convicted of most misdemeanors and some felonies. While they do not fully eradicate records of your arrest, prosecution, and conviction, an expungement can allow you to state that you have not been convicted of a crime on many types of job applications.

Factual Innocence Motion
A factual innocence motion can be filed to help clear a criminal conviction from the record of a person wrongfully accused of a crime. The accused person must be able to prove that there is no reasonable cause to believe that they actually committed the offense that they were charged with. While it may be difficult to achieve success with this type of motion due to the high burden of proof the filer must face, it can result in all records related to the crime being sealed for three years and then destroyed. The best time to file a factual innocence motion is no later than two years after an arrest or accusatory pleading.