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Los Angeles County Expungement Lawyers

DUI / DWI Expungements

Anyone can expunge a California DUI, DWI or drunk driving conviction, so long as (1) he was placed on probation and (2) he successfully completed probation. At the end of the probationary period, the person may petition the court to expunge the DUI record. If the person was represented by a California DUI defense attorney for the original DUI matter, that attorney will usually handle the expungement proceedings as well.

A DUI expungement functions the same as any other California criminal record expungement. A petition is filed with the court and then reviewed by the judge. If the judge grants the DUI expungement, the person withdraws her plea of guilty or no contest, re-enters her plea of "Not Guilty" and the case is dismissed.

The Effects of a DUI Expungement

The primary value of expunging a record of DUI conviction is for employment purposes. Once it has been expunged, a prospective employer may no longer hold the DUI against you in hiring or promotion considerations. Moreover, you no longer have to disclose the fact of the DUI conviction on job applications.

However, the DUI expungement does not affect your obligation to disclose the conviction when applying for state licenses or teaching credentials. And a state license board may use the DUI conviction against you in deciding whether to grant or renew a person's license or credential.

Early Termination of DUI Probation

Following a plea or a jury conviction to a DUI charge, a defendant is usually placed on 3 to 5 years of probation. In a misdemeanor case, this is referred to as "summary probation" or "informal probation"-meaning the person does not need to report to a probation officer. The defendant may petition the court to terminate the DUI probation early, for example after 18 months.

In reality, however, most judges are very reluctant to grant an early termination of probation in a DUI case. One of the terms of DUI probation is that the person may not drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in his system. Judges generally want to see the defendant bound by this term for as long as possible. Therefore, most judges will require the defendant to serve the complete term of probation before granting the DUI expungement and dismissing the case.