Most California criminal cases end in probation rather than jail. This guide explains the difference between formal and informal probation, how long probation lasts after AB 1950, the conditions judges impose, what happens when you violate, and how to end probation early and expunge the conviction.

If your case was never filed, dismissed, or ended in acquittal, Penal Code section 851.91 lets you petition to seal the arrest. Here is who qualifies, how the CR-409 petition works, what sealing does and does not do, and how it differs from expungement.

A step-by-step guide to early termination of probation under Penal Code 1203.3: eligibility, timing, the motion, what Inland Empire and Los Angeles judges want to see, DUI and domestic violence limits, and how to combine the request with a 17(b) reduction and a 1203.4 dismissal.

Penal Code section 17(b) lets a judge reduce a wobbler felony to a misdemeanor at sentencing, during probation, or after probation ends. Who qualifies, the Alvarez factors judges apply, how the motion is filed in Inland Empire and Los Angeles County courts, and what changes for firearms, records, and immigration.

A step-by-step guide to expunging a conviction in California under Penal Code section 1203.4 and its companion statutes: who qualifies, how to file the CR-180 petition, how to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor first, early termination of probation, automatic record relief, and what an expungement does and does not do for jobs, licenses, immigration, and firearms.