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Presumed Guilty Until Proven Innocent: California Penal Code Section 851.8 And The Injustice Of Imposing A Factual Innocence Standard On Arrested Persons, Natalie Lyons
Golden Gate University Law Review
The statutory remedy for removing an arrest from a person’s record places an undue burden upon a person who has never been found guilty of a crime. California Penal Code section 851.8 mandates that an arrested person prove her factual innocence before the arrest record may be sealed and destroyed.
This Comment examines the injustice of this section 851.8 requirement that an arrested person prove her innocence before the arrest record will be destroyed. Part I considers the probative value of an arrest record measured against its impact on the arrested person’s life, focusing on the disparate impact of arrests …