High unemployment rates and a faltering economy tend to make workers with arrest records nervous: That kind of a blot can only make job hunting more difficult. California has a variety of statutory remedies, such as Penal Code sections 530.6 (factual innocence for victims of identity theft), 851.90 (sealing records after a defendant completes a drug diversion program), and 1203.4 (withdrawing a plea after probation is completed). But the broadest protection comes from Penal Code section 851.8, which provides for a petition for factual innocence ("PFI"). The court can grant a PFI for any arrest that did not result in a conviction. (See Cal. Penal Code § 851.8.)
A judge who grants a PFI will order that all arrest and prosecution records be sealed. This seal holds until three years from the date of the arrest, at which time all the related records will be destroyed, including the petition itself, the PFI order, arrest records, state Department of Justice records, and those of any other agency that received information of the arrest (for example, the local police department). Put succinctly, an order granting a PFI wipes the slate clean.
A successful PFI is a godsend to someone who has been wrongfully arrested. And for anyone who may have been properly apprehended but was later acquitted of the charges, a PFI provides something the jury's verdict cannot: a finding of factual innocence - Remember that when a jury acquits someone, it simply means that the prosecution did not meet the burden of proof for guilt; it does not necessarily mean the defendant didn't commit the crime.
In 2012, the Law Offices of Justin E. Sterling launched the Clean Slate Project. The Clean Slate Project extends legal advocacy beyond an arrest or disposition by the court so that clients can avail themselves of opportunities to “clean up” their criminal records.
