If you have been convicted of a DUI, your criminal record will reflect this fact for the rest of your life, or until you request the incident be expunged from your record. Having a drunk driving conviction could hurt your chances of employment or finding quality housing, particularly if the person reviewing your application has lost someone in a drunk driving accident. That’s why it’s such a good idea to get a drunk driving expungement in San Diego if you can qualify. A San Diego expungement lawyer can help review your case to see if you may be eligible.
Getting a Drunk Driving Expungement in San Diego
While your San Diego expungement lawyer can help you better understand whether or not you meet the requirements to have your record expunged, there are a few conditions you absolutely must meet before you can qualify for a drunk driving expungement in San Diego. This means you must have already completed your probation and paid off all fines, restitution fees and reimbursement charges that you may have incurred due to your sentence. If there is a compelling reason to terminate probation early, a lawyer can even move to shorten probation in order to make you eligible for expungement of their conviction.
Additionally, you cannot be facing charges or serving probation for another crime. Also, if you were sentenced to prison for the DUI, then the conviction can not be expunged, which is not a problem for anyone who was not convicted of a felony DUI.
What a San Diego Expungement Lawyer Will Do
In order to obtain a drunk driving expungement in San Diego, your expungement lawyer will need to file a petition with the court. The judge will then determine if you are eligible and, if you are, she will then either ask you to change your guilty plea to “not guilty,” or she will set aside the verdict if you were found guilty at trial. After this, the judge will dismiss the case.
Benefits of Drunk Driving Expungement in San Diego
If you have successfully obtained a drunk driving expungement in San Diego, you are no longer legally required to disclose the conviction to any prospective employers or landlords. If an employer does find out about an expunged conviction, he cannot discriminate against you. You do still need to disclose this information when applying for state licenses or teaching credentials though. Additionally, if you apply to any public jobs, you must disclose that you have a drunk driving conviction on your record.
Who Can Still See the Conviction
While having your DUI expunged from your record can help you pass employee background checks and other investigations into your criminal past, it is important to realize that this information will still be available to the police and courts if you face any future legal matters. This means if you get another DUI, the expunged conviction will still count as a prior for the purpose of sentencing. Also, the expungement will not apply to your DMV record, will not help you get your license back, will not change the fact that you will need to get SR-22 insurance, and your conviction will still remain on your driving record for 10 years.
If you have any questions about drunk driving expungement in San Diego or if you would like to get the process started, please call San Diego expungement lawyer Peter M. Liss at (760) 643-4050.
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