What is a Certificate of Rehabilitation?
Published on December 14, 2020A criminal record simply makes your life harder. It may prevent you from being hired, getting an apartment, obtaining a professional license, qualifying for government programs, and receiving student loans. Criminal records usually are publicly available and easily found.
There are some ways to improve your situation. If you are eligible, Spolin Law P.C. can assist you in obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation. It’s one of the few ways you can limit the harm caused by your criminal record in California, New York, or Texas. Call (310) 424-5816 or contact us online for a free consultation.
A Certificate of Rehabilitation Can Help You Get Your Life Back
A Certificate of Rehabilitation won’t expunge or seal your record, but it may be your best option if expungement or other post-conviction remedies aren’t available.
Under California law, it’s illegal for an employer with five or more employees to fail to hire someone because of their convictions if they have a certificate of rehabilitation. The certificate also functions as an automatic pardon application.
Under California law, the certificate is issued by a court and attests to your rehabilitation after a conviction. Texas and New York have their own versions. With this certificate, you can recover some of your legal rights. It should also be easier to find a job.
The process involves filling out a form, gathering evidence to support your application, and a court hearing. If you receive a certificate:
- Your civil rights are restored, except your 2nd Amendment rights concerning firearms
- You can’t be denied public licensing or employment (with some limits) due to your conviction
- Depending on the crime, you may no longer need to register as a sex offender
Do You Qualify for a Certificate of Rehabilitation?
The certificate won’t erase your felony conviction or seal the criminal record. If you served time in either state prison or county jail, you might qualify if you:
- Haven’t been re-incarcerated after your release
- Continuously lived in California for at least five years since your release. Some violent and sex-related crimes have longer waiting periods
- Have proof of your rehabilitation since your release
- Aren’t on probation for another felony
- Were convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, another California state penal institution or agency, or
- Were convicted of a felony and sentenced to probation, and your conviction has been expunged, or
- Were convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense in Penal Code 290 (the Sex Offender Registration Act), and your conviction has been expunged
Proof of rehabilitation can be shown by:
- A record of consistent employment
- Getting drug, alcohol, or domestic abuse counseling
- Engaging in community events and affairs
- Volunteering for non-profit organizations
- Not having an arrest record
- Active involvement in your children’s lives
- Positive letters from employers, clergy, neighbors, community leaders, or volunteer agencies
After filing your application, a hearing is held. You or your attorney will make your case and evidence that you qualify for the certificate. If the court issues the certificate, it’s reviewed by the Board of Parole Hearings. It will later issue a recommendation as to whether the Governor should pardon you.
Take the Next Step. Contact Spolin Law P.C.
A Certificate of Rehabilitation can help get your life back after serving your sentence and successfully returning to society. To learn more about how you can obtain one or to get our help in the process, call Spolin Law P.C. at (310) 424-5816 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation.
New LA District Attorney George Gascon Promises to Re-Open Thousands of Old Cases
Published on December 9, 2020The new Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascon, has promised to re-open thousands of old cases for California prison inmates with Los Angeles County convictions.
George Gascon defeated the prior District Attorney (Jackey Lacey) in the November election last month. He was sworn into office this past Monday, December 7, 2020. Mr. Gascon then shocked the legal community by announcing a wide array of sweeping reforms and a retroactive application of most of these reforms.
“Retroactive” means that the many of the new changes will affect convictions in the past, whether they are from 25 years ago or from the day before Mr. Gascon took office.
This article was written by one of the criminal appeals lawyers at Spolin Law P.C. To find out more about how George Gascon’s election can affect your case, call our firm at (310) 424-5816.
Types of Cases Affected
The new policies issued by the Gascon administration are listed in a series of special directives that were published on December 7, 2020. They affect the following cases:
Cases with Sentence Enhancements
Special Directive 20-08 commands all prosecutors to abolish sentence enhancements (including gang enhancements, strikes, three-strike penalties).
Juveniles Tried in Adult Court
Special Directive 20-09 orders the abolition of the use of adult court for juveniles. Special Directive 20-14 also orders the re-opening and re-sentencing of “all cases where the defendant was a minor at the time of the offense.”
Writs of Habeas Corpus
Special Directive 20-10 stops the prior practice of automatically opposing all writs of habeas corpus. Now, the DA Habeas Unit “shall not simply oppose the petitioner’s claim” when the inmate’s claims are “supported by reasonably available evidence.”
Innocent Inmates
Special Directive 20-13 completely changes the practices of the Conviction Integrity Unit so that the DA’s Office is tasked with helping prove the innocence of inmates where there are “avenues of investigation that have the potential to substantiate the applicant’s claim(s).”
Inmates with Overly-Long Sentences
As Mr. Gascon said himself: “the sentences we impose in this country, in this state, and in Los Angeles County are far too long … [and I] campaigned on stopping the practice of imposing excessive sentences.” (Special Directive 20-14, 12/7/2020, page 2, italics added). Special Directive 20-14 orders the DA’s Office to allow a review of old sentences and use all available legal methods to fairly resentence inmates who received overly-long sentences.
How an Inmate Can Benefit
The election of George Gascon is great news for California inmates with Los Angeles County cases. However, not every inmate will benefit from the new DA’s changes. Here are some steps that may help you in winning a reduced sentence for yourself or a loved one.
Find a Skilled Appeals Lawyer
While Mr. Gascon is clearly an ally in reducing inmate sentences, he is limited by the laws that currently exist. Spolin Law P.C. handles post-conviction matters for clients throughout California and has experience reaching out to the DA’s Office through some of the legal methods described below.
Learn About New Laws AB 2942 / PC 1170d1
One way to get Mr. Gascon’s DA Office to reconsider a case is to apply under the new law AB 2942, which went into effect in 2019. AB 2942 allows each District Attorney’s Office in California to recommend resentencing for old convictions that occurred in that county. The law, written into the Penal Code, is one way to seek the new DA’s help in reducing an overly long sentence.
Take Action
As one local attorney recently said, “It’s like the DA’s Office is now being run by a true-believer defense attorney.” Nonetheless, there are tens of thousands of unfair sentences that have been handed down in Los Angeles County over the last several decades. In order to benefit from these new policy changes, you will have to take some type of action so that your case gets noticed. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Speak to your lawyer (or find a lawyer) so that you can begin this process. The appeals lawyers at Spolin Law P.C. are available to review cases and make recommendations.
To speak with a criminal law attorney or staff member at Spolin Law P.C., call us at (310) 424-5816.
Attorney at Law Magazine Features Spolin Law P.C. in a Cover Story About the Firm’s Successes and Mission Statement
Published onAttorney at Law Magazine describes some of the successes and strategies involved in many of the firm’s recent cases. Click here to download a scanned copy of the article.
The October 2020 New York edition of Attorney at Law Magazine profiled Spolin Law P.C. in a wide-ranging article about the firm’s successful advocacy and its mission statement of treating all clients with respect.
As the article notes, the firm’s fights to win its cases while also treating clients and family members with respect and dignity.
To read the article, you can visit the Attorney at Law Magazine website or read the text of the article copied below:
October 2020 Issue, Attorney at Law Magazine.
Article text copied below:
Fighting for the Innocent
Mary Medina, the mother of a former Spolin Law client, will never forget September 27, 2017. That’s the day the California Supreme Court sided with her daughter after months of appellate advocacy by Aaron Spolin and his firm, Spolin Law P.C. The outcome saved Medina’s daughter from a potential life sentence in prison.
“Aaron and his team saved her life, God bless them,” Medina says. “My close friend had found out about the firm, and we’re so lucky to have found them.”
Medina is one of the many former clients and client family members whom Spolin Law has helped. As one of the nation’s leading criminal appeals law firms, Spolin Law handles post-conviction matters for clients in state and federal courts.
Spolin Law was founded by former prosecutor Aaron Spolin. Besides trying to win cases, the firm’s mission statement includes a goal of “treating every client with respect and dignity,” something that is often lacking in the criminal justice system.
“When I was a prosecutor, we never knew the people we were prosecuting,” Spolin says. “Each case was a faceless statistic, and we were driven by the idea that more time in prison equaled more ‘justice.’”
It was only when Spolin started defending the accused that “I saw how these were often good people trying hard to make it in the world. There are clients who are innocent. And others may have made a mistake but deserve something better than a disproportionate cookie-cutter sentence.”
The criminal appeals process varies from state to state. It generally involves a review of the case records and an analysis of errors or legal mistakes that resulted in a violation of a criminal defendant’s rights. Improper admission of evidence, sentencing error, and ineffective assistance of trial counsel are some common examples of rights violations. If an appellate judge determines that an error was significant enough, the judge can overturn the conviction, modify the sentence, or dismiss certain charges. In some cases, a successful appeal results in the case being permanently overturned.
Besides fighting in court, the firm prides itself on being responsive to clients and client family members. “One of the things that separates our firm from other firms is that we return phone calls and emails relatively quickly,” notes law firm manager Dionne A. Parker. “When you’re a Spolin Law client, you are a VIP.”
Parker is admitted to practice in Maryland and in front of the United States Supreme Court, although she does not perform any legal work for Spolin Law or its clients. Nonetheless, her legal background helps her keep the law firm operating smoothly, which includes communicating with clients, courthouses, attorneys, and other Spolin Law team members to make sure that the firm has what it needs to build its cases.
Caitlin Dukes, one of the firm’s attorneys, remembers the extensive work required on a noteworthy case the firm won earlier this year. As a result of Spolin Law’s efforts, a client’s murder conviction was overturned and Superior Court Judge James Otto ordered for the client to be released on the very day the case was argued.
Spolin had served as the primary author of the written argument while Dukes had handled the oral argument in court, skillfully responding to the prosecutor’s contention that the client should remain in prison for life.
“He had spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit,” says Dukes, who is also a former prosecutor. “When I spoke with the client in our office shortly after his release, it was like meeting a brand-new person. He saw a world of possibilities in front of him, and I could see he was ready to begin his new life on the outside.”
The firm had won a similar case a few months earlier, although the prosecutor there had focused on the legality of the law used to overturn the life sentence. Spolin eventually obtained the dismissal of the life sentence for the client, who was just released from prison about two weeks before the publication of this article. The prosecutor had argued that the underlying law allowing the removal of the life sentence violated the state constitution. But Spolin and his team dissected the prosecutor’s arguments piece by piece, explaining to the judge how the law was indeed constitutional and how the client was entitled to release under every possible theory.
“It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time,” Spolin recalls. “The firm is selective in the clients it takes on, but when we do take on a client, we go all out.”
Fighting to win cases is just one aspect of the firm’s work. The lawyers and staff at the firm also do their best to help clients and family members get through difficult times. The firm’s senior case manager, Marti Wise, remembers the work she did helping to calm down a concerned father whose juvenile son had been wrongfully charged with murder.
“The entire process seemed stacked against his son, and he did not know where to turn,” Wise notes. “After seeing that this was a case we could handle, I made it my job to help him relax and know that this was ‘our problem’ and not his problem anymore.” In the end, the firm’s work resulted in Superior Court Judge William Wood completely dismissing the case. Minutes after the dismissal motion was argued, the client stood up and walked out of court a free man with no criminal record.
Spolin makes a point of explaining that success on past cases does not guarantee success on future cases. Nonetheless, the firm’s success comes as no surprise to other lawyers who have known Spolin over the years.
“He is a master of legal argument,” says Isaiah Soval-Levine, a Washington, DC–based lawyer who has known Spolin for more than a decade. “But he’s also just an incredibly nice guy. Treating people with respect is part of who he is, so it’s no surprise that in many cases his clients are as happy with how they were treated as they are with the outcome in court.”
“Spolin Law gave us the red-carpet treatment, and it shows,” says Twonia Anderson, the fiancé of a client whose life sentence was overturned in September of 2019 as a result of the firm’s efforts. “Every time the prosecutor filed a motion or argument, they responded with something better. I could tell that our case was important to the firm.”
Spolin Law’s treatment of clients and case outcomes have earned it awards from various organizations, including the National Trial Lawyers, the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys, and Attorney & Practice Magazine. This publication joins a growing list of organizations recognizing the firm’s work.
“We’ve gotten to where we are because of the idea of respect,” observes Spolin. “Respect for each client, respect for our work, and respect for the rights each person has under federal and state law.”
For inmates who have been shoved around by the criminal justice system and whose guilt was assumed from day one, this must feel like a breath of fresh air.
To learn more about Spolin Law and how its criminal appeals lawyers can help on your case, call us at (866) 716-2805.
Prior success does not guarantee future success.
What is a Wobbler Offense?
Published on December 8, 2020A wobbler offense, also called an “alternative felony/misdemeanor offense,” is a crime that can be charged or punished as either a felony or a misdemeanor in California. Usually the prosecutor decides whether to charge a wobbler as a felony or as a misdemeanor. In some cases judges will decide how to punish a wobbler offense. In addition, a defendant convicted of a wobbler felony may choose to file a petition with the court to reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor. In California there are hundreds of crimes that qualify as wobblers. These include sex crimes, domestic violence, and fraud crimes.
When can the wobbler offense be reduced to a misdemeanor?
There exist four times when a wobbler crime can be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor:
- When the prosecution first charges the offense;
- At a felony preliminary hearing when the defendant is held to answer;
- During sentencing; or
- If the defendant was not sentenced to prison, after the defendant has done California’s felony probation and filed a petition to reduce the charge.
How do prosecutors decide how to charge a crime?
California does not mandate how a prosecutor should charge a wobbler crime, it remains at the discretion of the prosecutor. In California prosecutors often follow the crime charging standards put out by the California District Attorneys Association. They suggest prosecutors look at the following factors to inform their decision:
- The defendant’s cooperation with law enforcement;
- The age of the defendant;
- The severity of the crime;
- The defendant’s criminal record;
- The chances of defendant continuing to commit crimes;
- If the defendant is eligible for probation;
- How strong the prosecution’s case is.
When do judges reduce a wobbler felony to a misdemeanor?
Judges, like prosecutors, have the discretion to reduce wobblers to misdemeanors from Penal Code 17. The judge can make this choice at either:
- The preliminary hearing,
- The time of sentencing, or
- Following the defendant’s petition to reduce a wobbler felony to a misdemeanor, for cases where the defendant was sentenced to and already completed California’s felony probation.
Judges are not bound by the prosecutor’s decision on how to charge the crime. If there are mitigating circumstances of the crime, judges are able to reduce a wobbler felony down to a misdemeanor. These mitigating circumstances are circumstances that argue in the favor of the judge being more lenient in sentencing. These mitigating factors include, among many others,
- The defendant not having any priors or an insignificant criminal record,
- The defendant played only a minor role in the crime
- The defendant’s acknowledgement of the wrongdoing and/or restitution to the victim early on in the criminal process
- The defendants earlier behavior on probation or parole was satisfactory.
How does one get a wobbler conviction expunged?
Expungement is a type of post-conviction relief in California that is available to most wobblers. For wobblers it does not matter if the charge ended up as a felony or as a misdemeanor conviction. Eligible defendants can petition for an expungement following a completed probation. If the court grants the expungement, the case is to be dismissed with no conviction. In addition, the defendant does not have to tell any employers in the future about the case. Those not eligible for expungement are people convicted of certain sex crimes involving children. Additionally, in order for the defendant to qualify they must also have not served time in California State Prison for their offense, or had served jail time in a state prison for a crime that would be now served in county jail following Proposition 47’s new legislation.
Contact Spolin Law for Help
If you have any questions about wobbler offenses, you can call Spolin Law P.C. at (310) 424-5816. We have offices in Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, and Manhattan, NY.