The impact of your criminal conviction in California goes beyond incarceration and fines. Often, a conviction for a felony or misdemeanor will enter your criminal record and can impact multiple aspects of your life. While you may have put the mistake behind you, landlords, employers, lenders, and your professional licensing board can still use the conviction against you.
Fortunately, you can avoid these consequences by petitioning the court to vacate your conviction. A motion to vacate a sentence asks the court to set aside your conviction for a chance at a new trial. However, you must have legal grounds to file this motion.
You could file a motion to set aside your conviction under PC 1016.5, PC 1018, and PC 1473.7. Although most defendants are eligible for this post-conviction relief, having your conviction vacated in Pasadena, CA, can be stressful and challenging.
At Pasadena Criminal Attorney, we will provide the legal guidance and representation you require to navigate the motions and secure a favorable case outcome.
An Overview of Vacating or Setting Aside Your Conviction
Under California law, vacating a criminal conviction means that the verdict made in your case will be nullified. When the court grants you your petition to vacate a conviction, the trial and judgment will be treated as if they never occurred. However, a vacated conviction does not mean that your case is over or that you are excused from the liability of the offense. Instead, it allows you to go through another trial for the same offense.
After a vacated conviction, the prosecution in your case can decide to drop it or refile the charges. If the prosecution decides to pursue the charges against you, you must be ready to go through the retrial procedure.
However, this can allow you and your attorney to convince the prosecution to reduce or file different charges with less severe consequences. The court cannot vacate your conviction because you regret your action.
You must have solid grounds to seek this post-conviction relief. Without sufficient evidence to back your petition, the court can dismiss it and order you to continue serving your sentence.
Ways to Set Aside or Vacate Your Conviction
If you are considering filing a motion to vacate or set aside your conviction, you must speak with a reliable criminal defense attorney. Your attorney can review your case and help you determine the right statute under which you can file the motion. Commission grounds to vacate a conviction include:
California Penal Code 1018
You can file a motion to withdraw your plea or vacate a judgment under PC 1018. This motion allows you to withdraw your guilty or no contest plea and replace it with not guilty. You can also file this motion after the court or jury has found you guilty. You can only submit a motion under PC 1018 before you are sentenced or within six months of serving your probation.
You cannot file a motion to vacate your conviction after incarceration. However, under these circumstances, you can file a Writ of Habeas Corpus petition, which argues that your imprisonment was unlawful. Setting aside your conviction involves filing your motion with the court clerk, where a hearing date is set.
At this hearing, you will discuss your grounds for filing the motion with the judge and the prosecution. The following are some of the arguments you can present when filing a motion to vacate your conviction under this statute:
You did not Have Legal Counsel when you Entered the plea.
Filing a motion to set aside a conviction under pc 1018 requests the court to allow you to withdraw a guilty or no contest verdict. In California, all defendants have a right to legal representation. The court will appoint an attorney if you cannot afford private legal representation. You must be notified of this right when reading about your Miranda rights.
Navigating your criminal case without an attorney can be grounds for having the conviction vacated. However, there is no guarantee that the court will grant your motion. In cases where you were notified of your right to legal representation and opted to represent yourself, the court can deny your petition.
For a chance at vacating your conviction under these circumstances, you must prove that you did not understand your legal right to representation by the arresting officer and did not read your Miranda rights.
Ineffective Legal Counsel
You have the right to adequate legal guidance and representation at each stage of your case. However, having an attorney does not always mean receiving the advice you need to prevail in your case. A private or court-appointed attorney should help you understand the nature of your charges, the criminal court process, and the potential outcome of your conviction.
If you prove you did not receive adequate legal guidance, you may have a solid motion to set aside the conviction and undergo a new trial. Some of the factors you must establish to prove that you lacked effective legal counsel include:
- Your lawyer's performance was unreasonable. Your attorney's performance and competence to represent you in a criminal case must adhere to professional standards. When deciding on your petition, the judge will consider the court's rules, your attorney's educational background, and ethical obligations.
- The way your attorney handled the matter affected how it turned out. You must demonstrate that your lawyer's actions prejudiced the case after proving their performance was poor in the given situation. Your defense lawyer can demonstrate this element by providing relevant evidence and making the point that, with the right counsel, your case's result could have been different.
You did not Understand The Consequences of Your Plea
Before your case goes to trial, you must enter a guilty plea, not guilty, or no contest to your case. Sometimes, the prosecution will offer a plea deal where you plead guilty or no contest in exchange for a lighter sentence or more favorable conditions for your sentence.
The court requires you to understand the legal repercussions of a plea before entering it. Additionally, you must be conversant with all the conditions of a plea bargain proposed by the prosecution before signing it. Failure to understand the consequences of a plea may be grounds for setting aside your conviction under PC 1018.
By proving that you were unaware of the following facts, you can convince the court to grant your petition:
- A conviction for your offense will result in severe immigration consequences like deportation or inadmissibility.
- A guilty or no contest plea will result in incarceration.
- Entering a guilty plea will attract a revocation or suspension of your professional license.
- A guilty plea will result in sex offender registration.
You Entered the Plea Under Coercion, Duress, or Fraud
A defendant must willfully agree to enter a plea deal after reviewing the facts of the plea with the guidance of a criminal defense attorney. You can satisfy the good cause belief by proving to the court that you were corrected into entering the plea. Additionally, you can argue that you were lured or threatened into the guilty or no-contest plea. This can occur in cases where:
- The court or prosecution pressured you into entering a plea deal.
- Another person involved in the case threatened to harm you or your family for the failure to accept liability for the crime.
- The arresting officer threatens to retaliate against you or your loved ones if you fail to plead guilty to the charges.
If the judge grants your motion under PC 1018, the verdict in your case will be struck. This means that the case will go back to trial. At this stage of your case, the prosecution can suggest a plea deal or allow your case to go to the jury.
In cases where the judge denies your motion to vacate a conviction, you can appeal the decision or explore other forms of post-conviction relief.
California Penal Code 1016.5
A criminal conviction attracts severe legal and collateral consequences for anyone in the United States. However, unlike citizens whose greatest fear is incarceration, immigrants have an added risk of deportation or inadmissibility following conviction. Offenses that can result in serious immigration consequences include:
- Crimes of moral turpitude. These are offenses that involve fraud and extreme dishonesty.
- Aggravated felonies result in severe injuries to a victim, including murder (PC 187), rape (PC 261.5), and robbery (PC 211).
- Firearm offenses, including the illegal sale, possession, and use of firearms
- Domestic violence crimes like child abuse (PC 273) and spousal battery (PC 243(e)(1)).
- Drug crimes like possession, transportation, and sale of controlled substances
Unfortunately, some immigrants enter the guilty or no-contest plea without knowing of the potential immigration consequences associated with the plea. Additionally, when prosecutors offer plea deals, they do not always inform the defendant of the potential impact of entering the deal on their immigration status.
If you are an immigrant, you can file a motion to vacate your conviction under PC 1016.5. However, for a successful motion, you must prove that:
- The court did not advise you on the potential consequences of your plea.
- The conviction you faced could result in a denial or neutralization, deposition, or inadmissibility.
If the court lacks the records to show that you were advised of these facts, you will proceed with the presumption that you were not informed. Being eligible to file this motion does not mean that the court will vacate your conviction. The judge will make the final decision on this matter.
You could increase our chances of prevailing in this motion if you and your attorney can show that you could have entered a different plea if you had received the right advice on the potential immigration actions for each plea.
There are several potential outcomes of your motion, including:
- The judge can grant the motion and vacate a conviction. This will result in a new trial for your case.
- The judge can deny the motion. When your motion is denied, the original verdict will stand, and your case will proceed to sentencing, which may include deportation.
If your motion is denied and you serve your sentence, you can petition the court to reduce your felony to a misdemeanor and expunge the conviction.
California Penal Code 1473.7
California law allows immigrants to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they are not in custody. A motion under this statute may be made because of prejudicial errors or the discovery of new evidence that could impact the case outcome. Before PC 1473.7 was effected, immigrants had limited options to challenge a criminal conviction.
A habeas corpus petition was the only option to have a verdict and sentence withdrawn. However, you can only file this petition while in custody, and after a release, you will lose the right to challenge your conviction. You can file a motion under PC 1473.7 on the following basis:
Vacating your Conviction Due to Prejudicial Errors
Your conviction can be vacated if there was a prejudicial error in your case. An error will be considered prejudicial if it damages your ability to understand, defend, and accept the immigration consequences of your plea. Typical forms of prejudicial error upon which you can base your motion include:
- Your attorney violated their duty to advise you on the immigration consequences of each plea.
- Your attorney failed to take the necessary measures to defend against the immigration repercussions of your plea.
- You did not understand the specific immigration consequences you could face for entering the no-contest or guilty plea.
Your Conviction Resulted from Racial Discrimination
If your attorney can establish that your conviction resulted from discrimination against your race, origin, or ethnicity, you may have a valid reason to file a motion under PC 1473.7(a)(3). Although there is no deadline for filing this motion, it would be beneficial to file it promptly.
If you seek to have your conviction vacated under these circumstances, you should file the motion:
- After receiving the notice to appear in immigration court
- The date when your deportation or removal is finalized
The legal grounds that your attorney will use to justify vacating your conviction under CPC 1473.7 will vary depending on the circumstances of your case.
Vacating a Conviction After Discovering New Evidence
Sometimes, the prosecution will pursue a criminal charge against you immediately after an arrest. This leaves little time for you and your legal team to obtain the necessary evidence to build a defense in your case. You may have grounds to file a motion to vacate your convocation if you discover new evidence that could favor your case.
Evidence supporting your motion includes forensic results like DNA and admissions of guilt for the crime by another person. If you present the new evidence successfully, the judge can vacate your initial conviction and grant you a new trial. The judge will consider these factors when determining whether to set aside your conviction on these legal grounds:
- Whether or not the evidence is newly discovered, you must prove that the evidence you present did not exist at your trial.
- Whether your lawyer could obtain the evidence before the conclusion of your trial or when you face criminal charges, the court allows a discovery phase for the case. During this period, you can learn about the evidence that the prosecution has in your case, and your attorney can use it to build your defense. Whether your attorney could access the evidence before your case ended will be key in determining the outcome of your petition.
- Whether the evidence collaborates with the existing one, the judge will rule on your petition, depending on whether the newly found evidence collaborates with the existing evidence to prove your innocence.
- Whether the new evidence can change the outcome of your case, if you base your PC 1473.7(a)(1) petition on new evidence, the evidence must be strong enough to change the case outcome.
If they have reasonable justifications, immigrants out of custody can file a motion to set aside a conviction under PC 1473.7. If you are in this predicament, you must file the motion on the date you receive a notice to appear in immigration court or on the day your deportation order is finalized.
You are entitled to a court hearing when you file a motion under PC 1473.7. If you have legal representation, attending this hearing is not mandatory. If the court grants your motion, the conviction will be dismissed, and you can withdraw the guilty or no-contest verdict. You will undergo a new trial unless the district attorney dismisses your charges.
Under these circumstances, you can be awarded credit for the time you have served and negotiate a more favorable plea. If the judge denied your motion, you can file an appeal and prove that your motion was denied due to a legal mistake.
Alternatives to Vacating a Conviction in California
The court will vacate your conviction after you have filed a successful motion under PC 1016.5, 1018, or 1473.7. Not all individuals with a criminal conviction are eligible to have their conviction vacated. If the court denies your motion, you can explore other forms of postconviction relief, including:
Expungement
Under California PC 1203.4, an expungement is a legal proceeding where the court allows you to withdraw a guilty verdict from your case and exchange it with a not guilty verdict before dismissing it. You can expunge a felony or a misdemeanor if you have completed your probation successfully and are not serving a sentence for another offense.
Unlike vacating a conviction, an expungement is not available for defendants facing charges of sex crimes against children. After an expungement, you can truthfully answer no when asked about prior convictions. Additionally, employers cannot discriminate against you for an expunged conviction.
Certificate of Rehabilitation
Individuals convicted for certain offenses and who have lived in California for up to five years may be eligible for a certificate of rehabilitation. A COR is a post-conviction relief where the judge issues you with a certificate indicating that you have been rehabilitated from your criminal actions.
With a certificate of rehabilitation, you have better employment opportunities and fewer obstacles with professional licensing. You will be eligible for a COR if you have expunged your felony or misdemeanor conviction and can prove that you are rehabilitated.
Conviction Review
Under California PC 1172.1, the post-conviction review unit promoted fair practices by correcting excessive jail sentences. Priority for a conviction review is given to inmates who are:
- Serving sentences of five years or more for a non-serious felony
- Serving a sentence under California Three Strikes law
- Defendants who have served half of their prison sentence
- Defendants serving an adult sentence for a crime committed as a minor
After a review, your sentence could be reduced appropriately, resulting in your release.
Governor's Pardon
Under California law, a governor's pardon is a post-conviction relief granted by the governor to defendants who exhibit a high level of rehabilitation. You can seek a governor's pardon after receiving a certificate of rehabilitation, and it offers the following benefits:
- The restoration of your gun rights
- Relief from the duty to register as a sex offender
- Right to be employed as a probation or parole officer
- The right to be a credible witness in a criminal case
Find a Skilled Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
A criminal conviction in California will not only take away your freedom but can taint your criminal record. California law provides different types of post-conviction relief to help you avoid the disabilities of your conviction.
Vacating or setting aside your conviction is a common option you can explore. However, your motion will be accepted if you have the legal grounds to support it. You can file this motion because you were unaware of your plea's consequences, received inadequate legal guidance, or were pushed into a plea deal.
Vacating a conviction means the verdict will be nullified, and you can go through another trial. The best way to move forward with seeking post-conviction relief in California is by hiring and retaining a competent criminal defense attorney.
Your lawyer will help you assemble your motion and follow the proper procedures to ensure the motion is granted. If you seek to pursue a motion to vacate a conviction in Pasadena, CA, you will benefit from our top-notch legal guidance at Pasadena Criminal Attorney. Contact us at 626-689-2277 for much-needed guidance.
