Do You Need a Criminal Expungement Attorney?
What Is Criminal Expungement?
Expungement is the process of sealing conviction and arrest records. Nearly every state in the United States allows people to expunge convictions and arrests from their records. All exact criminal expungement processes and requirements vary from state-to-state. The majority of states in the United States have a law that lays out that once a conviction or an arrest completes the expungement process, it does not require disclosure to landlords or employers.
How to Qualify For Criminal Expungement
Not everybody convicted or arrested for a crime qualifies for expungement. Because the process of criminal expungement offers a fresh start to someone with a criminal past, the individual has to undergo an investigation to ensure that she or he meets the qualifications required for the process of expungement.
The first step you need to take is to check with your local county criminal court. Additionally, you should also check with the law enforcement agency that handled your arrest. Working with either your county’s criminal court or your local law enforcement agency, you can ask them the following questions about your eligibility for expungement:
- When are you eligible for an expungement?
- What does the expungement process involve?
- Are your criminal charges eligible for expungement?
- What are the consequences of expungement?
The jurisdiction that you live in may only allow expungement for misdemeanor convictions. So if you were charged with a felony conviction, your charge may not be eligible for criminal expungement.
You also may be eligible for expungement if you have finished serving your sentence, including any probation that you had to serve. However, if the judge has good reason to, she or he may shorten your period of probation so that you may qualify for expungement at an earlier date.
You should learn whether there are circumstances where your conviction may still show up, even if after expungement. For example, licensing boards and some police departments may find out about your expunged records. You should be aware of the limitations of expungement and whether any consequences come with it.
Hiring a Criminal Expungement Lawyer
Hiring an expungement lawyer helps you to work with the government agencies responsible for expunging your convictions. Then they help you to understand what consequences may come after you successfully expunge your records. In addition, they know what qualifications you have to meet for your records to qualify for expungement.
If you want to hire an expungement lawyer, call us or answer the questions on this page.
You can present information about your expungement concerns, as well as your location, and a category of law that you need professional legal counsel in to help us connect you with the best legal professional in your area. We will send you your results instantly, free of charge!
How Does Expungement Work?
The process of criminal expungement is very complicated. Depending on the jurisdiction that you live in, some states require an applicant to serve papers to the district attorney. However, other locations require the applicant to have the order of expungement signed by a judge.
Depending on the case, there may be a required court hearing. The judge who hears the case decides whether to grant the criminal expungement. After obtaining the expungement order, you may have to serve it to different agencies related to the records of your arrest. One of these agencies may be the State Department of Corrections.
One of the most difficult parts of the criminal expungement process is for you to obtain all the required documentation you need to fill out your application. You can obtain many of the documents required for the expungement from the court records or from the office of the prosecutor. Hiring a criminal expungement attorney can help you collect all the required paperwork and ensure that you fill out everything properly so that the expungement process goes smoothly without costly mistakes.
What Is a Certificate of Actual Innocence?
A certificate of actual innocence is the most powerful type of expungement. Not only does a certificate of actual innocence seal your records, but it also proves that your criminal records never existed at all.
If you were found not guilty in a court case or if the charges brought against you were dropped, you can hire an expungement lawyer. This can provide you with an established certificate of innocence to seal and remove any related records from your criminal history.
Are you interested in hiring a criminal expungement lawyer? Need help to seal your criminal history so you can move past a bad life decision?
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Work with an Experienced Local Lawyer
Are costly mistakes from the past holding back your life? Get immediate legal help by contacting one of our compassionate expungement attorneys. They can quickly help you learn your eligibility options for clearing or sealing your records. Then you can find the counsel you need to get back on your feet.
Working with an expungement lawyer near you is a great way to open up new opportunities. You may want to enroll in an educational program to learn or work on advancing your career. Sometimes you just want to clear your criminal history from your past for your own peace of mind. An expungement lawyer can help you make progress on taking back your life.
Do you have an interest in learning more about the expungement process in your case? Request information on our site online or call us 24/7. We will connect you to a dedicated lawyer in your area today. The connection process is free, but the legal professionals whom you work with may require a fee for their services. However, know that they will work with you to determine this before you commit to anything.
Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!
