If you have a felony Los Angeles DUI conviction on your record, you may think that there's nothing you can do to clean up your criminal record. Fortunately, post-conviction relief may be available to help you restore your reputation and close the book on that chapter of your life. One option is to have a "wobbler" conviction reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. A skilled Los Angeles DUI attorney can reivew your DUI conviction to determine whether felony reduction may be an option for you.

California criminal offenses are categorized in one of three ways felonies, which are punished by more than a year in state prison; misdemeanors, punished by up to a year in county jail; and "wobblers" - offenses that can be charged either way but which are usually pursued as felonies. If you were convicted of a felony wobbler and weren't sentenced to state prison, your conviction can be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor under California Penal Code Section 17 (b).

The process of reducing a "wobbler" felony to a misdemeanor begins by submitting a written motion to the court that convicted you. If the court grants your request, the crime becomes a misdemeanor "for all purposes," with only a couple of exceptions.

Your original felony conviction remains as a prior - if you're arrested for a similar crime in the future you'll face harsher punishment. Also, you'll still be restricted in possessing, using and owning a gun, because federal gun statutes eclipse state law.

Nevertheless, having a felony reduced to a misdemeanor has enormous benefits. You'll no longer be classified as an ex-felon, and only the resulting misdemeanor, not the felony conviction, must be reported on job applications. Once your felony is reduced to a misdemeanor, the court will notify the Department of Justice, which will notify law-enforcement agencies. Updating your records will take approximately six months.

Fortunately, you have options when it comes to clearing a felony DUI conviction from your record. For more information about reducing a felony Los Angeles DUI conviction to a misdemeanor, contact a Los Angeles DUI attorney for a free consultation.