Can I have a residential burglary strike felony expunged? 6 Answers as of November 29, 2011

For crimes involving a prison sentence, (Felony), a petition for a Certificate of Rehabilitation issued by the courts and filed with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is required . A Certificate of Rehabilitation is a court certified document declaring that a person is now obeying the laws of the land and demonstrating good moral character. For a residential burglary a felon must live in California for two years after they serve their sentences and complete their parole. After you meet the requirements and receive a Certificate of Rehabilitation, certain of rights are restored. Additionally, a request for a pardon is automatically sent to the governor. If you did not do time in state prison you may be legible for an expungement. An expungement permits someone convicted of a crime to file a Petition for Dismissal with the court to re-open the case, set aside the plea, and dismisses the case.

Need more information. Usually, a residential burglary requires a state prison sentence. If you went to prison, you do not qualify for an expungment.

No, you cannot expunge a felony conviction.

Expungement is available only if you were granted probation at sentencing.

Not clear what you mean. You may be eligible for an expungement if you successfully completed probation in the case. If you were sent to state prison, however, you're not eligible for an expungement. Even if you are eligible for an expungement, that will not clear up your strike. There is a process for removing old strikes from your record (called a "Romero Motion"), but that's different from the expungment process. To get a strike cleared, you must show "good cause", which usually arises when you're being sentenced on a subsequent strike. If you don't have a new strike pending, then you probably don't have "good cause" to remove your old strike.

As long as you weren't sentenced to state prison and that includes a suspended sentence then you can apply for it to be dismissed pursuant to PC 1203.4 after your successful completion of probation. Either your probation expires at the end or you can potentially get an early termination of probation. You must be off probation first before you can seek the "expungement". Keep in mind that an "expunged" conviction still exists and can be used as a strike against you. If you went to prison, you cannot get it expunged.