Fullerton, Petition to Seal Granted, Detention Only

In the following case, our client was issued a ticket for public urination under Fullerton Municipal Code § 7.110.010. She was not arrested and taken to the Fullerton Police Station. After our office represented her in the public urination case and had it dismissed, she asked if she was eligible to have the record of her detention and the case file sealed.

We answered yes.

In People v. Hadim (2022, L.A. App. Dist.) 82 Cal. App. 5th Supp. 39, the Appellate Division of the Los Angele County Superior Court held that when a defendant receives a letter in the mail to appear in court, that defendant did not suffer an arrest. Under such facts, defendant therein, Mr. Hadim, was deemed ineligible for relief under Penal Code § 851.91, which allows a judge to issue an order sealing the arrest report and the associated court file, if any.

Here, we did not appear in court on our client’s behalf because she received a letter in the mail notifying her of a complaint having been filed and instructing her to appear in court. Here, she was detained and signed a promise to appear in lieu of being hauled into the police station for booking and then transport to the courthouse within 96 hours.

We did a bit of research and discovered that Penal Code § 851.92, subd. (d)(1) defines “[a]rrest record” and “record pertaining to an arrest” to “mean information about the arrest or detention” kept in “[t]he master, or a copy of the master, local summary criminal history information” Therefore, the record of the detention, the citation issued to our client qualified as an arrest record, making her eligible for relief under § 851.91.

We told our client that since § 851.91 was passed, we had never done a petition to seal on a detention and we had neither seen any other attorney argue this in court nor heard of any attorney requesting this.

To our client, having the record of the detention and the case being filed deleted from her criminal history was important because she worked for a law firm and was fearful that if a periodic background check was performed on her, the law firm would notice the detention and the case filing, which could lead to her termination, or at the least, questions. She was then anxious that if she were fired, finding a new job with such a record would be difficult.

Greg explained to the client that an order to seal, if granted, did not allow her to represent to everyone that she was never detained and never faced a criminal complaint in court. For example, the client had to disclose the detention and the criminal case against her if applying for a job with law enforcement, if applying for public office (i.e., to become mayor, etc.), if applying for a license from the state or any local agency (i.e., to become an attorney, to be a dentist, etc.) or if applying to operate a state lottery (i.e., if she someday applied to sell lottery tickets from a liquor store or gas station).

So, with some sense of urgency and creativity, we prepared, filed and served the petition to seal for our client. We served it to the Fullerton City Attorney and the Fullerton Police Department, as required by statute.

A hearing date was then assigned and our office appeared in court for the hearing on the petition.

Greg was able to speak with the assigned Fullerton City Attorney in court before the hearing and discuss the petition. The Fullerton City Attorney read our petition and, after finishing, commented, “well, I learn something new every day,” in response to learning that the statute at issue appeared to allow sealing of a record solely related to a detention, without an actual arrest.

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