Case 3:09-cr-02512-JAH Document 20 Filed 05/31/24 PageID.63 Page 1 of 3
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
`
`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`ESTRELLA FRAUSTO-TORRES,
`Defendant.
`
`Case No.: 09-cr-02512-JAH-1
`
`ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
`EXPUNGEMENT
`
`[ECF No. 19]
`
`On May 15, 2024, Defendant Estrella Fausto-Torres (“Defendant”) filed a
`Motion for Expungement requesting that this Court expunge all official records regarding
`this case, including Defendant’s arrest and all criminal proceedings notwithstanding the
`non-public records retained by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). ECF No. 19
`(“Motion”). Defendant contends that she has complied with the period of her
`supervised release and has completed the probationary period. Id. As a result,
`Defendant asks this Court to grant her request. Id. The Government has not filed a
`response to Defendant’s Motion.
`When a defendant files a motion for expungement, she requests the court to
`destroy or seal the records of the conviction, but not the conviction itself. United States v.
`Crowell, 374 F.3d 790, 792 (9th Cir. 2004). Put differently, “a defendant who seeks
`expungement requests the judicial editing of history.” Id. (citations and quotations
`omitted). A federal court’s power to expunge records comes from two sources of
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`authority: statutory and
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`09-cr-02512-JAH-1
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`Case 3:09-cr-02512-JAH Document 20 Filed 05/31/24 PageID.64 Page 2 of 3
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`inherent authority. Id. Congress has set the conditions for which courts may expunge
`records for particular cases under particular circumstances. For example, under 18 U.S.C.
`§ 3607(c), “[i]f the case against a person found guilty of an offense under section 404 of
`the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) is the subject of a disposition under
`subsection (a), and the person was less than twenty-one years old at the time of the offense,
`the court shall enter an expungement order upon the application of such person.” United
`States v. Everett, 2019 WL 1491963, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 4, 2019). Likewise, in
`disciplinary matters involving employees of the Veterans Health Administration,
`“expungement of the records relating to the action” may be ordered by the Secretary of
`Veterans Affairs. 38 U.S.C § 7462(d)(1). Additionally, “Congress has further directed
`that DNA analysis be expunged from certain indices when a conviction has been
`overturned.” Crowell, 374 F.3d at 793 (citations omitted).
`If no federal statute applies, the court may exercise its inherent authority to expunge
`criminal records in limited circumstances such as an unlawful arrest or conviction, or to
`correct a clerical error. United States v. Sumner, 226 F.3d 1005, 1014 (9th Cir. 2000);
`Crowell, 374 F.3d at 793 (“federal courts have inherent authority to expunge criminal
`records in appropriate and extraordinary cases”). However, a district court does not have
`the authority to expunge “a record of a valid arrest and conviction solely for equitable
`considerations.” Sumner, 226 F.3d at 1014.
`Here, Defendant does not contend that she is entitled to statutory relief. Indeed,
`Defendant pled guilty to one count of Importation of a Controlled Substance
`(Methamphetamine) and was 28 years old at the time of sentencing. ECF No. 15
`(“Sentencing Memorandum”). Thus, the Court finds that no statutory relief applies. Nor
`does Defendant contend that she is entitled to relief under this Court’s inherent authority.
`Defendant does not assert that her arrest or conviction was unlawful, nor does she contend
`that there was a clerical error. Because this is not one of the “limited circumstances” in
`which this Court has the inherent authority to expunge a defendant’s criminal records and
`because no statutory relief applies, the Court DENIES Defendant’s Motion.
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`09-cr-02512-JAH-1
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`Case 3:09-cr-02512-JAH Document 20 Filed 05/31/24 PageID.65 Page 3 of 3
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`IT IS SO ORDERED.
`DATED: May 31, 2024
`
`_________________________________
`JOHN A. HOUSTON
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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`09-cr-02512-JAH-1
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