Blocker

With certain exceptions, the Penal Code 1 authorizes a convicted felon to apply for a “certificate of rehabilitation.” Carlos Ray Blocker would appear to be an ideal candidate for such a certificate except for one thing—he denies that there was any basis for convicting him in the first place. The decision whether to grant or deny such an application is entrusted to a trial court’s discretion. The question presented is whether that discretion is abused with the denial of an applicant who adamantly insists on his innocence. Our answer is no, the trial court did not abuse its discretion.

BACKGROUND

In May 1998, a jury found Blocker not guilty of the charge of raping his stepdaughter with a foreign object (§ 289, subd. (j)), but guilty of the lesser included charges of assault (§ 240) and battery (§ 242). The jury further found Blocker guilty of two counts of misdemeanor molestation of the stepdaughter (§ 647.6, subd. (a)(1)), requiring lifetime registry as a sex offender (§ 290, subd. (c)). A sentence of 18 months in the county jail was imposed but suspended, and Blocker was admitted to three years formal probation. This court affirmed the felony judgment of conviction.…