Because the petition is the easy part — until it is not. Counties handle these matters differently. The District Attorney can object. Eligibility hinges on details people without legal training routinely miss: the exact penal code subsection of the conviction, probation status, restitution paid, prior relief on related counts, and the difference between a wobbler reduction and a straight dismissal. A denied petition is harder to fix later than a clean petition is to file the first time. I do not let clients walk into that risk.