Violation of Protective Order Conviction (PC 273.6) Expunged

On Christmas Day 2019, our client, then 41 years old, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division, for violating a protective order.  

The protected person was his former wife, who had lied to police and claimed our client showed up at her residence.  Our client had not done so, but the police did not believe him and instead arrested him without hesitation.

Two days later in the Long Beach Superior Court, our client pled no contest to count one, a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code §273.6(a).  He did not want to fight the charges and needed to simply get home to get to work.  

The terms of the plea bargain were that our client was placed on thirty-six months of summary (informal) probation, conditioned upon serving thirty days in county jail (credit for five days in custody (three days actual custody and two days good time / work time)); paying $500 to a domestic violence prevention fund; enrolling in and completing a 52-session batterers program; and paying court fees of $220.

Three years later, probation expired naturally upon three years passing from the date of the conviction.

In 2024, the client called Greg Hill & Associates to ask about expungement because he was unemployed.  He needed a job and this conviction on his record was causing some potential employers to decline to hire him. 

Greg then explained what expungement did not do, in case the client regarded expungement like sealing.  Greg explained how expungement does not erase, delete or remove the entry on our client’s criminal history that he was arrested and charged with violating a protective order, but it would restore his last plea to “not guilty” and show the case dismissed.

Expungement would also legally allow our client the right to state he was not convicted in this case, unless one of four situations applied, which Greg explained.  They were if the client was applying for public office, if he was applying to operate a California State Lottery (i.e., through a liquor store or gas station), if he was applying for a professional license with the State of California (i.e., to become a doctor, medical doctor, real estate broker, etc.), or was applying for a government job.

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and we assembled the petition for dismissal, including a supplemental memorandum of points and authorities with a declaration from our client explaining his need for expungement.

In that declaration, our client explained that, then age 46, he was committed to turning his life around and living in a positive, productive direction.  He had lived a stable life since the conviction in this case.  He had worked hard and resolved never to make the kinds of mistakes that led to the conduct at issue.  He was dedicated to continuing his life in a productive way within the music profession.  At the time, however, he was unemployed and cared for his disabled mother.  His father recently passed away.    

 

He stated that if he were not able to earn an income, he would not be able to financially provide for himself and his disabled mother.  He did not want to continue to pay for his past mistake.

The declaration further stated that he realized he would be denied many job opportunities while having a conviction for violating Penal Code § 273.6(a).  This was having a crippling impact on his ambitions and professional life. Our client did not realize when he entered his plea over six years earlier that the conviction would impact his life to such a degree that he would be barred from job opportunities.  Consequently, our client asked that the judge set aside his plea and dismiss the Complaint under California Penal Code § 1203.4(a).

The judge agreed with the petition and restored our client’s last plea as not guilty and dismissed the complaint.

The client was extremely happy with this result.