Pardon

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At the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf, our skilled California pardon attorneys have an extensive understanding of all criminal pardon rules and guidelines, including Governor’s pardon. For more than 30 years, the criminal defense attorneys at our firm have been successfully defending the rights of our clients and assisting in expungements and pardons. If you would like to apply for a Governor’s pardon, you should contact the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf today for a free consultation with one of our experienced Los Angeles Governor’s pardon attorneys.

If you have served a prison term in California as the result of a felony or misdemeanor conviction, there is a chance that you may be able to receive a Governor’s pardon. A Governor’s pardon is granted to a convicted individual who has proven that he or she has changed his or her ways by demonstrating excellent behavior and continued abidance of the law. A pardon differs from an expungement in that, if pardoned, you must still declare, to an employer or other relevant person, that you have been convicted of the pardoned crime.

If an applicant receives a complete pardon, his or her rights will be returned allowing the individual to resume a normal life, although some exceptions do apply. For example, a person who has been pardoned may be able to purchase a firearm, unless he or she has committed and been convicted of a crime in which a firearm was involved.

Correctly applying for a pardon is very complicated and should be handled by an experienced attorney who understands the complicated guidelines of properly requesting a Governor’s pardon. At the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf, our attorneys will assist you in determining if you are eligible to apply for a pardon.

For many people, the first step toward applying for a pardon is receiving a Certification of Rehabilitation, a court order showing that the individual has been successfully rehabilitated. The following are some factors that will be evaluated in the determination of Certification of Rehabilitation eligibility: if you served your prison term in California, whether or not you have been incarcerated since you were released, the length of time you have lived in California since being released from prison, whether or not your conviction was dismissed, and the date of your conviction.

Individuals who do not meet Certification of Rehabilitation eligibility for any number of reasons may still apply for a pardon by writing to the Governor’s office and requesting various applications and documentation that need to be completed correctly and in a timely manner. In most cases, an applicant must have been released from prison for a period of ten or more years and be without any additional convictions to be considered for a pardon. It is recommended that anyone applying for a pardon seeks the representation of a qualified criminal defense attorney who has assisted other clients in applying for a pardon.

In most cases, the Governor has complete control as to whether or not to grant a pardon. If the individual applying for a pardon has two or more felony convictions, it is the responsibility of the California Supreme Court to approve the granting of a pardon prior to the Governor.