If I am arrested, should I talk to the police? No, if you are arrested, you should request to speak to a lawyer. You should obtain advice from a lawyer before answering any police questions. The police didn't read me my rights, do I get my case dismissed? Probably not. Not being properly advised of your Constitutional Rights may have consequences that will impact the ultimate outcome of your case, but the mere fact that you were not properly advised does not mean your case is automatically dismissed. It is an issue that should be brought to the attention of your attorney to determine what, if any, legal remedies are available. How do I get my sentence modified? If you want to ask the sentencing judge to modify your sentence you can do so by filing a Petition for Modification of Sentence or you can write a letter to the sentencing judge which clearly states your case number, current sentence and your reasons for requesting the modification. The court seldom modifies sentences unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Who is eligible for drug treatment within the criminal justice system under Proposition 36? There are a variety of ways to get drug treatment when a person is charged with a crime. There are drug courts, in which people who are addicted to drugs can enroll in an intensive drug treatment program, without having to plead guilty or go to trial. Successful completion of such programs results in dismissal of the case. Proposition 36 requires the state to offer drug treatment instead of incarceration if a person is convicted of certain drug possession offenses or drug use offenses. Under some circumstances, a person who is convicted of certain crimes and is addicted to drugs can be committed to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) for drug treatment. What happens when someone under the age of 18 is charged with a crime? A child who is charged with committing a crime, with habitual truancy, or with incorrigibility, comes within the jurisdiction of the juvenile delinquency court. After a child is arrested, the child may be released to a parent and cited into court at some future date -- or transported to a juvenile hall. The police then submit their reports to the District Attorney's Office. If the District Attorney's Office decides to charge the child with a crime, the matter is set for detention hearing in juvenile court. At the detention hearing the court will consider the report prepared by the probation department which details the child's history at home and at school and will help determine whether court intervention in the child's life is necessary. If the matter is not resolved at that time, the case is usually calendared for trial or adjudication. If the charges are admitted or found true at trial, another hearing, called a disposition hearing is held, at which the judge decides what must be done to rehabilitate the minor. The judge could order the child to be returned home on probation, sent to a group home, sent to a county-run juvenile camp, or in extreme cases, sent to the California Youth Authority. If the offense with which the minor is charged is serious, the District Attorney may decide to have the minor treated as an adult.  Depending on the charged offenses, the District Attorney may have the right to charge the minor as an adult without a "fitness" hearing in juvenile court.  I am applying for a new job. How can I get a past conviction taken off my record? Generally, only persons under eighteen years of age at the time of their arrest and who had their case heard in the juvenile court are eligible to have their arrest record "expunged" and sealed. Expungement means that all records of a juvenile court adjudication can be sealed -- except to certain members of law enforcement and agencies of the federal government. However, the law does permit the court to dismiss the charge if the person in question has fulfilled the conditions of probation for the entire period of probation or where it is in the interests of justice to do so. There are several types of vehicle code and sex offense convictions which are not subject to this kind of dismissal. Getting a conviction dismissed relieves a person of many of the penalties and problems associated with a conviction. Some consequences do remain: the conviction may still be used to increase a sentence for any new conviction a person may receive in the future. For example, the conviction could be alleged as a "strike" prior under the Three Strikes Law, or it may be used to turn a misdemeanor charge into a felony; possession or ownership of firearms remains unlawful; the conviction must be disclosed in response to any direct question contained in any questionnaire or application for public office, for state or local license, or contracting with the California State Lottery; and, in some cases a person may not be relieved of his or her duty to register as a sex offender. How do I get a certificate of rehabilitation? A certificate of rehabilitation generally allows a person convicted of a crime to have his or her civil and political rights of citizenship restored. The granting of a certificate of rehabilitation also serves as an application to the Governor for a pardon. In order to qualify for a certificate of rehabilitation, a person must establish that he or she has lived an honest and upright life; that at least seven years have passed since the completion of the sentence, probation, or parole; there has been no further incarceration since his or her initial release from custody; and that he or she has resided in California for the past three years. Individuals convicted of some crimes, such as those that carry mandatory life parole terms and certain sex offenses, are not eligible for a certificate of rehabilitation. How do I get a "finding of factual innocence?" If you were arrested and no charges were filed against you, or you were charged but you were not convicted and the case against you was dismissed, or if you were acquitted after a trial, you can ask the court for what is known as "a finding of factual innocence." If the court makes this finding, you can truthfully answer that the arrest never happened.