jeudi 23 janvier 2014

Arrest Records California

By Ben Kingsley


Many landowners, employers and business owners carry out background checks to ensure safety and security of their property. Background checks are important as it provides a relative wealth of information concerning the person as well as their history. However, background checks can be detrimental to a person who registers positive in California criminal records. Many individuals who were arrested but have the charges dropped find it difficult to look for work due to past arrest records. In California, persons who were arrested but have the case dismissed have the option to petition the law enforcement agency to have the records sealed or destroyed by the agency.

Under the California Penal Code section 851.8, which deals with the sealing and destruction of criminal records, the applicant may file a petition to the law enforcement agency who served the arrest to seal and destroy the records. Should the applicant be able to provide evidences or proofs that he/she is factually innocent; the law enforcement may seal and destroy the records within 3 years from the date of the arrest. The law office that has jurisdiction over the case will have to inform the DOJ as well as other law enforcement agencies who are involved of the approval. The DOJ and the other law enforcement agencies will then destroy their own copies of the arrest records.

Should the law enforcement fail to response within sixty days of receipt of the petition, under the Penal Code, the petition is understood as denied. Petitioners should make a follow up of their petition to ensure that their case would be reviewed by the law agency.

For petitioners who have their request denied, they can file the petition with the higher court that has jurisdiction of the matter. The court will then send the petition request to the respective law agency to attend a hearing set by the court. The petitioner has the burden of proof in determining their innocence of the arrest. Should the court find that the petitioner is innocent of the arrest; the court would then order all the records to be destroyed. The court will also issue an order to the DOJ and other involved parties to seal and destroy their copies of the arrest. The court will give a copy of the order to the petitioner, which includes the court's decision.

Note that not all cases will be "sealed and destroyed" by the court order, as the order will only apply to the case petitioned. For the petitioner to be eligible for the sealing and destruction of records he/she must - (a.) have not been charged with any case (b.) have the case dismissed and (c.) have a case filed but dismissed by jury trial. Note that petitioners convicted of any crime are not eligible for the "sealed and destroyed" as indicated in the Penal Code.

To determine whether one has criminal records ca, doing a background check on oneself can help one learn about the arrest records filed against them. There are several public record search companies available online which offer this service free that one can avail.




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