Proposed New State Bar Policy Regarding the Removal of Criminal Conviction Transmittal Notation from the Attorney Profile Page

The State Bar seeks public comment on a proposal to remove criminal conviction transmittal notations from attorney profile pages after the conclusion of the conviction proceeding where relief has been granted under Penal Code section 1203.4.

February 10, 2025, 11:59 p.m. (60 days)

Direct comments to

Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly.

Background

The State Bar Court (SBC) initiates conviction proceedings when the Office of Chief Trial Counsel transmits, or files a certified copy of the record of conviction. Generally, convictions resulting in transmittals to SBC are available on the licensee’s profile page indefinitely. The Board directed staff to explore removing criminal conviction transmittals from attorney profile pages where relief was granted pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.4.

Discussion/proposal

In November 2020, the Board established the Ad Hoc Commission on Discipline System to assess and improve the discipline system. Following the commission’s final report, the Board directed staff in January 2023 to develop a process for removing criminal conviction notations from attorney profiles after the conclusion of criminal conviction proceedings.

The proposed policy was developed in response to those directives.

Definitions

“Conviction proceeding” is the proceeding that results from an attorney’s criminal conviction or sentence for incarceration for 90 days or more pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 6 of the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar of California.

“Transmittal notation” means the reference on an attorney profile page to a transmittal of a record of conviction of an attorney to the State Bar Court.

Removal of transmittal notation following conclusion of a conviction proceeding:

Following the conclusion of a conviction proceeding, the State Bar will remove the relevant transmittal notation within six months of receipt of a certified copy of a court order, provided by the licensee or former licensee, granting relief pursuant to sections 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.41, 1203.42, or 1203.425 of the Penal Code of all associated underlying criminal convictions included in the transmittal of record of conviction that initiated the conviction proceeding.

Any fiscal/personnel impact

Adoption of the policy would require significant manual work to provide the relief granted. Additionally, there may be ongoing costs associated with receipt and processing of requests for records that remain public but have been removed from the attorney profile page. The impact of these costs would depend on the volume of requests received.

Background material

• From the Board of Trustees Meeting May 16, 2024: Agenda Item 60-3, Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System: Approval of Recommendations for Website Removal and Expungement

Source

State Bar Staff

Deadline

February 10, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

Direct comments to

Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly.