Petition For Certificate Of Rehabilitation And Pardon

Cal. Form L-0800

California Superior Local Rules

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF ORANGE 700 Civic Center Drive West P.O. Box 22024 Santa Ana, CA 92702-2024 (657) 622-8459 www.occourts.org Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instructions Page 1 of 5 PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION AND PARDON INSTRUCTIONS Optional Use Form #: L-0800 [Revised December 19, 2024] Pen. Code §4852.01, et seq. These are the instructions for completing the Orange County Superior Court forms entitled “Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon” (Form No.

L-0408.1), “Notice of Filing Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon” (Form No. L-0409), “Proof of Service- Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon” (Form No.L-0801), and the “Certificate of Rehabilitation” (Form No. L-410.2). The petition must be filed in the Superior Court of the county in which the petitioner currently resides.

If the Court grants the petition, the certificate of rehabilitation will be transmitted to the Governor and will constitute an application for a full pardon. (Penal Code § 4852.16) Only one petition should be filed, even if the petitioner has multiple convictions. All felony convictions and convictions of misdemeanor sex offenses specified in Penal Code

section 290 must be disclosed in the petition.

Section 1 - Are You Eligible? If you were convicted of a felony and committed to a state prison, institution, or agency including commitment to a county jail pursuant to subdivision (

h) of

Section 1170, you may file a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon if you can demonstrate the following:

(1) After leaving prison or other institution or agency, you have resided continuously in California for the five years immediately preceding the filing of this petition;

(2) You have completed the applicable rehabilitation period set forth below in

Section 2 of these instructions; and

(3) You have lived an honest and upright life, conducted yourself with sobriety and industry, exhibited a good moral character, and conformed to and obeyed the laws of the land since being released. (Penal Code §§ 4852.01(a); 4852.01(b); 4852.03; 4852.05; 4852.06) If you were convicted of a felony sex offense specified in Penal Code

section 290, and you were sentenced pursuant to Penal Code

section 1170(h), you may file a petition for certificate of rehabilitation and pardon if you meet all of the following requirements:

(1) You have obtained relief under Penal Code

section 1203.41;

(2) You have not been incarcerated in any prison, jail, detention facility, or other penal institution or agency after your Penal Code

section 1203.41 petition was granted;

(3) You are not currently on probation or mandatory supervision for any other felony;

(4) You present satisfactory evidence of five years continuous residence in this state immediately prior to the filing of this petition;

(5) You have completed the applicable rehabilitation period set forth below in

Section 2 of these instructions; and

(6) You have lived an honest and upright life, conducted yourself with sobriety and industry, exhibited a good moral character, and conformed to and obeyed the laws of the land since being released. (Penal Code §§ 4852.01(b); 4852.03; 4852.05; 4852.06) If you were convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor sex offense specified in Penal Code

section 290, and you were placed on probation, you may file a petition for certificate of rehabilitation and pardon if you meet all of the following requirements:

(1) You have obtained relief under Penal Code

section 1203.4;

(2) You have not been incarcerated in

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF ORANGE 700 Civic Center Drive West P.O. Box 22024 Santa Ana, CA 92702-2024 (657) 622-8459 www.occourts.org Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instructions Page 2 of 5 PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION AND PARDON INSTRUCTIONS Optional Use Form #: L-0800 [Revised December 19, 2024] Pen. Code §4852.01, et seq. any prison, jail, detention facility, or other penal institution or agency after your Penal Code

Section 1203.4 petition was granted;

(3) You are not currently on probation or mandatory supervision for any other felony;

(4) You present satisfactory evidence of five years continuous residence in this state immediately prior to the filing of this petition;

(5) You have completed the applicable rehabilitation period set forth below in

Section 2 of these instructions; and

(6) You have lived an honest and upright life, conducted yourself with sobriety and industry, exhibited a good moral character, and conformed to and obeyed the laws of the land since being released. (Penal Code §§ 4852.01(b); 4852.03; 4852.05; 4852.06) You are not eligible to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon if any of the following are true:

(1) You are serving a mandatory life parole;

(2) You were committed under a death sentence;

(3) You were convicted of any of the following: Penal Code

section 269; Penal Code

section 286, subdivision (c); Penal Code

section 288; Penal Code

section 288a, subdivision (c); Penal Code

section 288.5; Penal Code

Section 288.7; or Penal Code

section 289, subdivision (j);

(4) You are in the military service. (Penal Code § 4852.01(d)).

Section 2 - When Can You File? You may file for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon after your period of rehabilitation ends. The period of rehabilitation begins when you are either discharged from custody after completing the term to which you were sentenced, or upon your release on parole or probation, whichever occurs first. (Penal Code § 4852.03(a)) The period of rehabilitation consists of five years of residence in this state plus one of the following applicable periods: 1) Four years will be added if you were convicted of violating Penal Code sections 187, 209, 219, 4500, or 18755, or Military and Veterans Code

Section 1672, subdivision (a), or of committing any other offense which carries a life sentence, making the rehabilitation period a total of nine years. (Penal Code § 4852.03(a)(1)). 2) Five years will be added if you were convicted of committing any offense or attempted offense for which sex offender registration is required, making the rehabilitation period a total of ten years (Penal Code § 290). However, if you were convicted of violating Penal Code

section 311.2, subdivision (b),(

c) or (d), or Penal Code sections 311.3, 311.10, or 314, only two years will be added to the five years of residency, making it a total of seven years. (Penal Code § 4852.03(a)(2)). 3) Two years will be added if you were convicted of any offense that is not listed in paragraphs 1) or 2) above, making the rehabilitation period a total of seven years. (Penal Code §4852.03(a)(3)).

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF ORANGE 700 Civic Center Drive West P.O. Box 22024 Santa Ana, CA 92702-2024 (657) 622-8459 www.occourts.org Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instructions Page 3 of 5 PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION AND PARDON INSTRUCTIONS Optional Use Form #: L-0800 [Revised December 19, 2024] Pen. Code §4852.01, et seq.

Section 3 - Can You Receive Assistance?

If you are eligible to file the petition, you are entitled to receive assistance from all rehabilitative agencies including the adult probation officer of the county, all state parole officers, and the youth authority (for those under the age of 30). (Penal Code § 4852.04) You may be represented by an attorney of your own selection, or if you have no such counsel, then by the public defender. (Penal Code § 4852.08) Other than an attorney licensed to practice law in California, it is a misdemeanor for any person to solicit or accept any money, fee (or anything of value) for representing you in connection with your petition for certificate of rehabilitation or in an application for a pardon. (Penal Code § 4852.2).

There are no filing fees or court fees to obtain a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon. (Penal Code § 4852.09).

Section 4 - How Do You File the Documents and Notify the Proper Entities? PREPARING THE PETITION AND RELATED DOCUMENTS: A. You must completely fill out the petition (Form No.L-0408.1), sign it, and file it with the Clerk of the Court. When filling out this petition, you must list all California convictions for felony offenses and for misdemeanor sex offenses which are specified in Penal Code

section 290. Because the petition for rehabilitation must list all the foregoing convictions, you should file only one petition, regardless of the number of convictions you have sustained. If the Court determines that you are rehabilitated, the certificate of rehabilitation will apply to all convictions listed on your petition. If you have failed to list all required offenses, then even if your petition is granted by the Court, the Governor’s Legal Affairs Office will not proceed to the next step in your application for a pardon. If you received a Penal Code

section 1203.4 dismissal, attach a copy of the dismissal order to the petition. B. You must also completely fill out and sign the Notice (Form No. L-0409). Before serving the documents, you must fill in the hearing date and time. You may either select it yourself on a Friday at least 45 days away, at 8:30 a.m., or you may obtain the hearing date/time from the clerk’s office. Although these matters are currently heard in Department C5, at the Central Justice Center, it is a good idea to check with the clerk as to the correct department (courtroom) before completing the Notice form. C.

In addition, you must fill out the Certificate of Rehabilitation (Form No. L-0410.2), but do not sign it. If your petition is granted, the Certificate will be signed by the judge at the time the petition is granted. D. The Proof of Service (Form No. L-0801), must be filled out by the person who has served the documents, which must be someone other than the petitioner. (See below.)

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF ORANGE 700 Civic Center Drive West P.O. Box 22024 Santa Ana, CA 92702-2024 (657) 622-8459 www.occourts.org Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instructions Page 4 of 5 PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION AND PARDON INSTRUCTIONS Optional Use Form #: L-0800 [Revised December 19, 2024] Pen. Code §4852.01, et seq.

SERVING (NOTIFYING) THE PROPER ENTITIES: Thirty (30) days written notice of the hearing date and time on your petition must be given to: (1) the district attorney of the county in which you filed the petition; and (2) the district attorney of each county in which you were convicted of a felony or of an offense that was dismissed pursuant to Penal Code § 1203.4 (Penal Code § 4852.07).

To accomplish this, you will need at least four copies of the following forms: the Petition, the Notice, the Proof of Service and the Certificate of Rehabilitation (Forms L-0408.1, L- 0409, L-0801, and L-410.2):  The original is for the Court;  One copy is for petitioner’s records;  One copy is for the Orange County District Attorney;  One copy is for each District Attorney of any other county in which the petitioner was convicted.

The Orange County District Attorney and the District Attorney of each county of conviction must be “served.” “Served” means to be formally provided with notice of the proceedings and copies of all relevant documents. These documents may be “served” either by mail or in person. The person serving the above-referenced documents must be over the age of 18 years and MAY NOT BE THE PETITIONER. The person who serves the documents must also complete and sign the Proof of Service.

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF ORANGE 700 Civic Center Drive West P.O. Box 22024 Santa Ana, CA 92702-2024 (657) 622-8459 www.occourts.org Petition for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon Instructions Page 5 of 5 PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION AND PARDON INSTRUCTIONS Optional Use Form #: L-0800 [Revised December 19, 2024] Pen. Code §4852.01, et seq.

The above-referenced documents must be served on the following:  ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY 401 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA 92701  District Attorney of any other county where the petitioner was convicted Personal service must be completed at least 30 days prior to the hearing date. Service by mail must be completed at least 35 days prior to the hearing date.

FILING THE DOCUMENTS WITH THE COURT CLERK: After service is made, take all the documents (the Petition, the Notice, the Certificate and the Proof of Service) to the Criminal Clerks Office at Central Justice Center in room L-100 and submit them to the court clerk for filing.

Section 5 – The Hearing and Disposition On the hearing date, the petitioner or their attorney must appear in court in the appropriate department at the designated time. Because many other cases may be calendared for the same date, a long wait is not uncommon. Please be aware that if the Court grants the petition and signs the Certificate of Rehabilitation, this does not constitute a pardon. If the Court grants the petition, the Criminal Clerks’ Office will send a certified copy of the Certificate of Rehabilitation to the Governor. The certified copy of the Certificate becomes an application to the Governor for a full pardon. The Governor will decide whether or not to issue the pardon.

Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	Cal. Form L-0800
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	e83f02ba01661eaa9c37833e391b3ceb7e935a00

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).