Habeas Corpus to Compel Sealing of Arrest and Court Records

In In re Wessley W. (1981) 125 Cal. App. 3d 240, 246-247 181 Cal. Rptr. 401 the appellate court reversed a trial court order granting habeas corpus to compel the sealing of all arrest and court records related to the habeas petitioner's 1965 conviction. The petitioner had alleged that the listing of the 1965 conviction in his rap sheet constituted the constructive custody necessary for habeas corpus jurisdiction. (Id. at pp. 246-247.) However, characterizing the record as "completely devoid of any facts to support the trial court's finding of constructive custody," the appellate court concluded the petitioner was not in actual custody and could not be placed into custody since his probation had been terminated some 15 years earlier. (Ibid.)