California · Penal Code

PEN §1001.97: (a) Upon successful completion of the terms, conditions, or programs ordered by the court pursuant to Section 1001.

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

After successfully completing court-ordered diversion programs, an arrest is deemed never to have occurred and cannot be used against the defendant in employment or licensing decisions, except peace officers may still access arrest records.

Read the full statutory text

(a) Upon successful completion of the terms, conditions, or programs ordered by the court pursuant to Section 1001.95, the arrest upon which diversion was imposed shall be deemed to have never occurred. The defendant may indicate in response to any question concerning their prior criminal record that they were not arrested. A record pertaining to an arrest resulting in successful completion of the terms, conditions, or programs ordered by the court shall not, without the defendant’s consent, be used in any way that could result in the denial of any employment, benefit, license, or certificate. (b) The defendant shall be advised that, regardless of their successful completion of diversion, the arrest upon which the diversion was based may be disclosed by the Department of Justice in response to a peace officer application request and that, notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section does not relieve them of the obligation to disclose the arrest in response to a direct question contained in a questionnaire or application for a position as a peace officer, as defined in Section 830.

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