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Petition to Seal Granted, Santa Clarita, Marijuana Detention
In 2006, the California Highway Patrol, Newhall Station, pulled over our client, then age 23, while she was driving on the 5 Freeway near Newhall. Police told her the reason for the stop was that she was traveling at 90 miles per hour, a violation of Vehicle Code § 22350 (basic speed law).
In speaking to our client, the officer allegedly smelled the odor of marijuana and observed baggie of marijuana laying on the passenger seat. The baggie had about five grams of marijuana. The officer then cited our client for not only speeding, but also for violation of Health & Safety Code § 11357 (possession of marijuana). He then seized the marijuana and let our client leave after she signed a promise to appear in the Santa Clarita courthouse in about two months. Our client was not arrested.
Our client then did appear as promised in the Santa Clarita courthouse about two months later. She faced a criminal complaint for one count – a violation of California Health & Safety Code § 11357, less than one ounce (now legal after the 2016 passage of Proposition 64, The Adult Use of Marijuana Act). The judge there offered our client a form of diversion wherein she would attend twenty-four Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings at the rate of two meetings per week in exchange for dismissal of the case.
Grateful of the judge’s offer, our client then attended the NA meetings and the case was indeed dismissed under Penal Code § 1385 in August 2006.
Our client then moved on with her life. However, the record of having been charged with possession of marijuana immensely embarrassed her.
In 2023 and then living in northeastern Florida, she called Greg Hill & Associates about having the record of her marijuana case sealed. She was now married to an active duty Naval officer and had two young children. Her husband was a submarine officer in nearby King’s Bay, Georgia, about ten miles away over the Georgia border.
She wanted to volunteer in her children’s school and be able to travel with her husband overseas without worrying her marijuana case from 17 years earlier might bar her.
She had called two other attorneys in California who told her that since she was not actually arrested, she was ineligible for relief under Penal Code §§ 851.91 and 851.92, the California law that permits sealing and destroying of “an arrest record” and court documents related to the arrest.
Greg told her the other attorneys were incorrect and that she was eligible for this relief because Penal Code § 851.92(d)(1) states an “arrest record” includes a record of an arrest or a detention. Greg told the client that she could have such a police record and the record of the case filing sealed.
The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates to prepare, file, serve and then appear at the hearing on the petition to seal.
Our office filed and served not only the required judicial council forms associated with such a petition, but we also included a short memorandum of points and authorities that set forth the law in more detail and included a declaration from our client stating why she sought sealing of the detention record and the court file.
Our supplemental memorandum explained that our client was eligible for relief, despite not being arrested, because under Penal Code § 851.92(d)(1), an “arrest record” includes a record of an arrest or a detention.
The filing further explained how our client believed a mere charge of violating Health & Safety Code § 11357 would bar her from volunteering for her children’s school and traveling overseas with her husband. She did not want this record to ruin her goals and livelihood, especially when no conviction resulted. This blemish on her record was having a devastating impact on her personal and professional life. While she was currently unemployed and a stay-at-home mom to her two toddlers, she planned to seek employment within the teaching profession in Florida.
Our office then filed the petition to seal at the Santa Clarita Courthouse and served it to the CHP, Newhall station, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Santa Clarita Courthouse.
In speaking to our client, the officer allegedly smelled the odor of marijuana and observed baggie of marijuana laying on the passenger seat. The baggie had about five grams of marijuana. The officer then cited our client for not only speeding, but also for violation of Health & Safety Code § 11357 (possession of marijuana). He then seized the marijuana and let our client leave after she signed a promise to appear in the Santa Clarita courthouse in about two months. Our client was not arrested.
Our client then did appear as promised in the Santa Clarita courthouse about two months later. She faced a criminal complaint for one count – a violation of California Health & Safety Code § 11357, less than one ounce (now legal after the 2016 passage of Proposition 64, The Adult Use of Marijuana Act). The judge there offered our client a form of diversion wherein she would attend twenty-four Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings at the rate of two meetings per week in exchange for dismissal of the case.
Grateful of the judge’s offer, our client then attended the NA meetings and the case was indeed dismissed under Penal Code § 1385 in August 2006.
Our client then moved on with her life. However, the record of having been charged with possession of marijuana immensely embarrassed her.
In 2023 and then living in northeastern Florida, she called Greg Hill & Associates about having the record of her marijuana case sealed. She was now married to an active duty Naval officer and had two young children. Her husband was a submarine officer in nearby King’s Bay, Georgia, about ten miles away over the Georgia border.
She wanted to volunteer in her children’s school and be able to travel with her husband overseas without worrying her marijuana case from 17 years earlier might bar her.
She had called two other attorneys in California who told her that since she was not actually arrested, she was ineligible for relief under Penal Code §§ 851.91 and 851.92, the California law that permits sealing and destroying of “an arrest record” and court documents related to the arrest.
Greg told her the other attorneys were incorrect and that she was eligible for this relief because Penal Code § 851.92(d)(1) states an “arrest record” includes a record of an arrest or a detention. Greg told the client that she could have such a police record and the record of the case filing sealed.
The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates to prepare, file, serve and then appear at the hearing on the petition to seal.
Our office filed and served not only the required judicial council forms associated with such a petition, but we also included a short memorandum of points and authorities that set forth the law in more detail and included a declaration from our client stating why she sought sealing of the detention record and the court file.
Our supplemental memorandum explained that our client was eligible for relief, despite not being arrested, because under Penal Code § 851.92(d)(1), an “arrest record” includes a record of an arrest or a detention.
The filing further explained how our client believed a mere charge of violating Health & Safety Code § 11357 would bar her from volunteering for her children’s school and traveling overseas with her husband. She did not want this record to ruin her goals and livelihood, especially when no conviction resulted. This blemish on her record was having a devastating impact on her personal and professional life. While she was currently unemployed and a stay-at-home mom to her two toddlers, she planned to seek employment within the teaching profession in Florida.
Our office then filed the petition to seal at the Santa Clarita Courthouse and served it to the CHP, Newhall station, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Santa Clarita Courthouse.
A hearing date was then set later and Greg attended the hearing on the client’s behalf, while she remained in Florida. The judge granted the petition, which made our client very happy.
