How To Get Your Criminal Record Expunged

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Each state offers its own definition of an Expungement. Generally, an Expungement is the sealing or destroying of criminal records. An Expungement is the process that removes a criminal record from general view. People who have been expunged have paid their debt to society and can go on living their lives like their criminal past had never occurred.

Not every case can be expunged. Every state has its own requirements that have to be met before a criminal record can be expunged. Contrary to popular belief, records are not “sealed” automatically with the passage of time, but require the filing of a petition with the court requesting the expungement and stating the reasons you are requesting it and how you meet the criteria set by law.

Who can get a court record expunged?
Eligibility for an expungement of an arrest, investigation, detention, or conviction record will be based on the law of the jurisdiction in which the record was made.

Requirements often include:
>Fulfilling a waiting period between the incident and expungement;
>Having no intervening incidents;
>The number of prior incidents;
>The seriousness or type of offense involved in the incident;
>Fulling the terms of any sentence;
>Not having any pending criminal investigation or proceedings;
>That the incident was disposed without a conviction; and
>That the petitioner complete probation without any incidents.

The petitioner may choose to hire an attorney to guide them through the expungement process, or he/she can decide to represent themselves, also known as appearing pro se.
Most jurisdictions have laws which allow – or possibly even require – the expungement of juvenile records once the juvenile reaches a certain age. In some cases, the records are destroyed; sometimes they simply are “sealed.” The purpose of these laws is to allow a minor who was accused of criminal acts, or in the language of many juvenile courts, “delinquent acts,” to erase his record permanently, usually at the age of 17 or 18. The idea is to allow the juvenile offender to enter adulthood with a “clean slate.”

How to Expunge a Record
You can get your record expunged by hiring an attorney, which is understandably costly. There are a lot of companies on the internet that offer this service for about $300, the amount of legal knowledge these companies have varies. Finally, you may be able to seek an expungement on your own behalf.

Why Expungement

1. Many states allow employers to terminate employment of employees found to have had a prior conviction.

2. Most states allow employers to deny jobs to people who were arrested but never convicted.

3. Most states ban some or all people with convictions from being eligible for federally funded public assistance programs.

4. All but two states restrict the right to vote in some way for people with a criminal conviction.

5. 12 states have lifetime bans on voting for persons convicted of a crime.

6. Virtually anyone with an internet connection can find information about someone’s conviction history online without his or her consent or any guidance on how to interpret or use the information.

7. 15 states bar people with criminal records becoming adoptive or foster parents.

8. Higher Education Act of 1998 makes students convicted of drug related offenses ineligible for any grant, loan or work assistance.

9. Many landlords now demand a criminal history background check prior to leasing or renting and can lawfully deny persons with convictions housing.

10. Insurance and loan rates could be affected by your criminal history in certain cases.

11. Expungement keeps the record of your arrest and/or court case out of the public record.

12. Expungement allows you to LEGALLY deny or fail to acknowledge that you were arrested for the incident which you sealed or expunged.

13. Protects your privacy and may allow you to take advantage of job, school, and other opportunities once closed because of your arrest being a part of the public record.