If you were convicted of a Felony or Misdemeanor in San Francisco and were sentenced to jail and not prison you are eligible to have your conviction “Expunged.” Some other qualifications to have your conviction expunged are that you completed your probation without any problems and that you are not currently on probation for any other case.
Expunging your conviction means that the conviction cannot be brought up at a later time during a civil trial. It also can have positive effects if you are attempting to become a United States Citizen, attempting to join the military or trying to get some sort of California license such as a Real Estate License. Gaining an expungement means that on private job applications you can truthfully state that you were never convicted of a crime.
Unfortunately an expungement does not erase the conviction from your records, it only softens the effects of the conviction. A record of your case will typically show your arrest, underneath that it will show the conviction and finally under the conviction, it will show the expungement.
There are several ways to gain an expungement depending on the California County that you live in. Some Adult Probation offices and some Public Defender Offices such as in San Francisco will help you with the petition for an expungement free of charge. You can also get it done by hiring an expereinced San Francisco Criminal Attorney.
There is no reason not to expunge your conviction and every reason, especially having peace of mind, to clean up your record.
