Vehicle Code § 2800.2 Conviction Expunged, Airport Court

In September 2019, when just 19 years old, our client entered into a plea bargain at the Airport Courthouse to a misdemeanor violation of Vehicle Code § 2800.2, also known as reckless evading of a police officer.  The case was originally brought as a felony, but the public defender assigned to the case negotiated an amendment of the complaint to reclassify the felony as a misdemeanor, to which our client entered his plea.

The terms of the plea bargain were that our client was sentenced to three years of summary probation on the following terms and conditions: payment of a court fine of $80 and service of 180 days in Los Angeles County Jail, less credit for one day.  

Our successfully completed all terms of probation in September 2022 with the passage of three years.

Due to pressing employment concerns, the client called Greg Hill & Associates to ask about having the conviction expunged.  He was aware from his mom’s advice (gained from her brother, a former client of Greg Hill & Associates) that expungement could help him in getting a better job, but he did not understand how to proceed.  

He called Greg Hill & Associates and spoke with Greg Hill.  He explained the facts of the underlying case, the conviction and how he successfully completed probation.  

Greg explained that Penal Code § 1203.4(a) gave a judge the authority to change the last plea on record for a case back to “not guilty” and order the case dismissed, which consequently allowed the defendant to legally represent that he or she had not been convicted of the crime alleged.  This “legal fiction” that 1203.4(a) provided was not available to all crimes and defendant had to qualify first, by successfully completing probation and not being on probation in any other case, on parole, post release community supervision or facing an open, pending case.

Greg also explained to the client, now age 22, that after a judge signs an order under Penal Code § 1203.4 in the client’s case, there were four exceptions to being able to state to others that one had not been convicted of the crime.  They were if the client was running for public office, if the client was applying to operate a lottery, if the client was applying for a state professional license (i.e., medical doctor, real estate broker, licensed physical therapist, etc.) or one was applying for a job with a governmental entity.

However, if one was applying for a job at Walmart or at a refinery, for example, expungement is helpful.

Greg then explained how much time was generally involved in preparing the petition and filing it.  Greg then explained how long it took to get a hearing on the petition and how long before the Department of Justice (DOJ) updated their records for the client.  

The client then hired Greg Hill & Associates.  We then prepared the judicial council form, supplementing it with a short points and authorities and a declaration from our client stating why he sought relief under 1203.4.  It set forth how he is now pursuing his bachelor’s degree at California State University, Dominguez Hills, with an eventual goal of becoming employed to financially support himself.  He explained that he realized would be denied employment opportunities while having a conviction for Vehicle Code § 2800.2 on his record, which was causing a crippling impact on his professional life.  He explained that he does not want to continue to pay for his mistakes. .   

We then filed the petition at the Airport Courthouse, paying the $120 court fee associated with the filing.  We also served the Airport District Attorney’s office, who was the prosecuting agency assigned to the original felony case.

The clerk of the court then set a hearing date and our office appeared for the hearing.  Our client remained in school when Greg went to court for the hearing.