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Sealing Juvenile Court Records

Riverside County Expungement Attorneys

The criminal defense and expungement attorneys of Criminal Defense Partners help clients petition to seal California juvenile court records. We assist clients in the Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino County courts.

How Does The Process of Sealing Juvenile Records Work?

Our expungement attorneys will do a phone or in-office consultation to see if you are eligible to have your juvenile records sealed. If so, we will file a petition with the court seeking to have the records sealed.

We must serve notice on the agencies that have the juvenile records, such as the police department, probation department and district attorney. A court hearing will occur in which these parties will have an opportunity to object.

Once the petition is granted, the Department of Justice will be ordered to destroy your California juvenile court records. According to California law, once the juvenile records are sealed, “The proceedings shall be deemed never to have occurred and the person may properly reply accordingly to any inquiry.”

What Are The Benefits of Sealing Juvenile Records?

First, with limited exceptions, no one can access your California juvenile court records once they have been sealed. If someone inquires to the police agency or court involved in the case, the court or agency must answer that they have no record of the matter.

Second, you can legitimately answer “no” when asked on a job or licensing application whether you’ve ever been convicted of (or arrested for) a crime. It is as though the juvenile case never occurred.

Who Is Eligible to Seal Their Juvenile Records?

To be eligible to seal your California juvenile records, two conditions must be met. First, you must be an adult or the criminal juvenile court jurisdiction must have ended at least five years ago.

Second, as an adult, you must not have been convicted of any misdemeanor or felony crimes of moral turpitude, and there must not be any pending civil litigation over the juvenile incident. Crimes of moral turpitude are crimes involving dishonesty or immoral behavior.

How Does Sealing Juvenile Records Affect Sex Offender Registration?

If you are a Penal Code 290 registered sex offender based on a juvenile court conviction, then sealing your California juvenile records will end your registration requirements.

Are There Some Juvenile Records That Cannot Be Sealed?

Yes. Records of crimes listed in California Welfare & Institutions Code 707(b) cannot be sealed if the minor was 14 years of age or older when the crime occurred. 707(b) crimes are the most serious offenses, such as murder, robbery, rape, kidnapping and child molestation.

Can Anyone Still See My Juvenile Records Once They’ve Been Sealed?

A few limited exceptions allow someone to inspect California juvenile records that have been sealed. If you are a party to a defamation lawsuit, the other side may be able to unseal your juvenile records. Also, automobile insurance adjustors may be able to inspect DMV records arising out of the juvenile case, even sealed ones, in conducting risk assessment.