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Criminal Law · answered on camera

How To Understand When Your Expungement Cannot Be Granted

Quick answer

When can't a California conviction be expunged? Traditionally, if you served state prison rather than county jail, or the crime was violent, explains Oakland expungement attorney Darryl Stallworth. A non-violent felony like auto theft, resolved with county-jail time, can qualify. Even then, courts don't grant relief automatically—you must show rehabilitation through work, schooling, and character letters.

Excerpt summaries from the video and transcripts · how we make them

Law updateNOTE — current law: California expanded record relief after this interview. The Clean Slate Act (SB 731, effective July 1, 2023) provides automatic sealing of many arrest and conviction records—including many felonies, and even some that resulted in a state-prison sentence—once a person completes their sentence and stays conviction-free for the required period (generally four years for felonies). Serious, violent, and sex-registerable offenses remain excluded. So a prison sentence no longer categorically bars relief the way Stallworth describes, though the most serious crimes still don't qualify.

Answered by Darryl Stallworth · Oakland, CA

Highlights

0:08

— the line between county jail and state prison for eligibility

0:50

— why you must give the court a reason to grant the exception

Frequently Asked Questions

When can't a conviction be expunged?

Traditionally if you served state prison rather than county jail, or the crime was violent—a non-violent felony resolved with county-jail time can qualify.

Is expungement automatic if eligible?

No—courts don't grant relief automatically; you must give the court a reason by showing rehabilitation through work, schooling, and character letters.

→ Full interview on Attorneys.Media

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Contact Darryl Stallworth
Answered by

Darryl Stallworth
Darryl A. Stallworth Law Office

32 filmed answers · full profile →

Build note · one page per video, built from the directory database: this video’s own Quick answer, Law update where one applies, Highlights and Q&A, attributed to its attorney. Nothing on it is quoted verbatim and no interview text is reproduced — the full interview stays on Attorneys.Media, linked above.