Reentry Legal Clinic How to read a DOJ rap sheet How do you obtain a DOJ rap sheet? And once you do, how do you make sense of it? Written By: Joshua Kim 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 1 of 9
INTRODUCTION A rap sheet from the California Department of Justice ("DOJ") is one of the most comprehensive collections of one's California criminal records. (Non-California records are usually not included on the DOJ rap sheet.) At the same time, the information contained in it is also minimal--barely enough to fill out a petition for dismissal. Of particular problem is that it generally does not contain much post-sentencing information, including compliance with probation terms and conditions. Regardless, a DOJ rap sheet can be a useful source for information necessary to fill out dismissal petitions, especially if the individual has: 1. a large number of convictions; 2. old records (predating computerization of court records in the 1990's); and/or 3. records from multiple counties. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 2 of 9
Step 1 How to read a DOJ rap sheet If you don't already have a copy of DOJ rap sheet, obtain one via Live Scan. If you're the subject of the rap sheet, you're authorized to obtain your own rap sheet from the DOJ. See Cal. Pen. C. 11105(b)(12). The California Attorney General's ("AG") website has detailed information on how to obtain your own DOJ rap sheet. The only piece of information not available on the AG's website is that you can waive the DOJ's part of the fee ($25). You qualify for a fee waiver if you are "indigent" (defined as receiving public benefit, such as CalWORKs, food stamp, MediCal, or even unemployment insurance). 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 3 of 9
Step 2 A DOJ rap sheet is "mile wide and inch deep." While it is comprehensive, it rarely has any information about what happens after sentencing. See the first image. you can see that the person here was granted 24 months of probation ("24 MONTHS PROBATION") with various terms and conditions. But did she comply with those terms and conditions? The DOJ rap sheet is silent. Her probation terms and conditions include: 3 DAYS JAIL, paying fine or spending additional 3 days in jail in lieu of fine ("3 DAYS JAIL OR FINE"), and restitution ("RESTN"). In granting her probation, the court suspended imposition of sentence ("IMP SEN SS"). As a point of comparison, check out the second image, which is from a court record for the same case (from Los Angeles Superior Court) concerning sentencing in this case. It has a lot more verbiage and contains the same information as the entry on the DOJ rap sheet does. But the court record shows more. Specifically, the third image shows that the defendant failed to pay fines as ordered by the court, and it went to collection information that's missing from the DOJ rap sheet. It may be possible to reconstruct such information from memory--if the case was recent and isolated. If memory doesn't help, official court records might. See the guide on reading Los Angeles court records for more information on how to obtain and read court records. As you can see from the image, a DOJ rap sheet includes a lot of abbreviations. Don't worry. You will soon learn how to read the most relevant abbreviations. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 4 of 9
Step 3 The DOJ rap sheet is composed of two (2) main components: the subject's personal identifying information and various events associated with him/her. The personal identifying information always appears on the first page and includes: CII (Criminal Investigation & Identification) and CDL (California Driver's License). Here, you will also find all "aliases" (including misspelled names) associated with each event. Each "event" is a separate entry, with the exception of an arrest when a charge is filed in court. In that case, both the arrest by the arresting agency and the disposition from the court are grouped together as a single "event." Each event is demarcated by four aterisks ("*"). And, in case of an arrest resulting in a charge, the arresting agency's entry is separated from the court's entry by four dashes (" "). See the second image. An event is recorded when the subject is fingerprinted and the fingerprint is sent to the DOJ. Examples: arrest (either initial arrest or on a bench warrant), custody (commitment to either prison or jail), licensing, and request for criminal record exemption from Dep't of Social Services. For the purpose of filling out a petition for dismissal, pay attention to all arrest and custody events. Arrest may lead to a conviction eligible for dismissal under 1203.4, while custody commitment to prison will show it to be ineligible. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 5 of 9
Step 4 Let's decipher an arrest event. As previously mentioned, an arrest event can include an entry from the court. Sometimes, however, no charge is filed. Here's an example of one without a charge in court. The entry shows an arrest by California Police Department Los Angeles ("CAPD LOS ANGELES"), on Nov. 12, 1988 ("1988-11-12") for a suspected violation of Health & Safety Code ("HS")section 11364. The redacted arrest number is next to CNT:01 and reads #14***72. The final disposition ("DISPO") was a release by the prosecutor ("PROS REL") which means that the arrest was only a detention ("DET ONLY") for lack of sufficient evidence ("LACK OF SUFF EVID"). In other words, the prosecutor didn't file a charge, because there wasn't enough evidence. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 6 of 9
Step 5 Here is an event where the initial arrest is followed by a court entry showing charge and disposition. The arrest was effectuated by the California Police Department Los Angeles ("CAPD LOS ANGELES") on October 1, 1987 ("19871001") for a suspected violation of Penal Code ("PC") section 484(a). The entry following the arrest entry is by the California Municipal Court ("CAMC") in Los Angeles County at Metro Courthouse ("LOS ANGELES METRO"). The all-important case number is found next to CNT:01 and reads #87M***. Under the first count ("CNT:01"), the defendant was charged with a violation of Penal Code ("PC") section 484(a). On November 10, 1987 ("19871110"), the court convicted her ("DISPO: CONVICTED") of a misdemeanor ("CONV STATUS: MISDEMEANOR"), and sentenced ("SEN:") her to 30 days in jail--no probation. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 7 of 9
Step 6 A "custody" is a separate event, although it refers back to the arrest/court event that results in the custody commitment. As you can see from the attached image, such an entry starts with CUSTODY heading, which, in this case, shows that California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDC") took her custody on August 29, 1996 ("19960829"). On the first comment section ("COM:"), there is a reference to the previous case, BA***46. The case entry for BA***46 happens to be right above the commitment entry which, as previously discussed, is demarcated by four asterisks ("*"). For the purpose of filling out a petition for dismissal, these custody events are only relevant to determine the eligibility of the underlying conviction for dismissal. Rule of thumb: if the case ends up with the person serving time in prison, it can't be dismissed! 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 8 of 9
Step 7 For the purpose of filling out a petition for dismissal (CR-180), the DOJ rap sheet can provide insufficient information. (Remember, mile wide, inch deep.) What you may not be able to obtain from the rap sheet is how well the defendant did on complying with terms and conditions of a probation, if given. From the DOJ rap sheet, you can obtain the following information necessary to fill out a CR-180: case number, the defendant's name, the court of conviction, the offense(s) of which the defendant was convicted, the date of conviction/sentencing, and the sentence imposed (and executed). This document was last generated on 2017-06-21 07:58:07 AM. 2017 reentrylegalclinic.dozuki.com Page 9 of 9