The Expungement Process
The only way to exercise your right to the expungement process is if the defendant has fully completed his/her probation sentence and also has no additional pending charges.
In California, if the judge grants your request for an expungement, you cannot entirely erase a criminal record from public view. What will happen, however, is the expungement will cause your case to reopen, the guilty plea or verdict will be withdrawn, and the charges will be
dismissed. The new disposition in your case will read “dismissed in the interests of justice”.