Orange County DUI Expungement Lawyer

In California, your driving under the influence conviction (DUI) can be expunged. It helps to successfully complete the terms and conditions of your probation. However, just because you did not does not mean your motion will be denied.

At the Law offices of Stull and Stull, we win expungement motions all the time where a client violated a term of probation. The judge has discretion to expunge convictions where probation was violated. We try to focus on your accomplishments in a positive manner to convince the court to grant our motion.

The expungement process begins when we take all of your information and research your case. With that information we prepare a motion and file it with the court, we will also serve that motion on the district attorney and the probation department in the courthouse where you plead guilty or no contest. The case is set out 30-60 days for a hearing. In that time the district attorney or probation department have the right to file an opposition to the motion. The district attorney and Probation then submits their opposition to our motion. We have the right to file a reply.

The court calendars a date for a hearing a hearing. You are not required to be at the hearing. Often times the district attorney and probation will submit the matter and the motion will be granted. Once the expungement is granted, your guilty or no contest plea is withdrawn and, a plea of not-guilty entered and the judge orders that the case be dismissed. We add in our motion an additional order that is signed by the judge that orders the court to send a copy of the order to the Department of Justice to update our clients “rap sheet” and his department of justice records.

Our firm handles all of the research, the drafting of the motion, filing the motion, service of the motion, correspondence, and phone calls and attending the court hearing. We also cover the filing fee too.

Please note that Penal Code Section 1203.4 specifically states that an expungement will not have any impact on the use of DUI conviction as a prior. This is significant because if you are arrested, or get another DUI conviction, the first conviction is expunged and you get a second DUI within ten years, it will be prosecuted as a second time DUI. This will include all of the punishments, enhancements and penalties, regardless of the fact that the judge entered a dismissal of your first DUI. There is an exception to the rule. However, for employment purposes, you would be able to tell your employer that your case was dismissed.

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.

Once your expungement is granted you can mentally put the case behind you and it will be another step in moving forward in your life.