Is there another basis of having a juvenile record, expunged?
Asked on Oct 10th, 2011 on Criminal Law - New Hampshire
More details to this question:
In February of 2009 I was convicted of stealing from a store. I was caught with my friend and she received the same thing. I recently turned 18. Is there a way to get it sealed, expunged, or removed? I have not been in any other trouble. And I cannot find a good job because I cannot be hired.
There are a few important things to find out in order to determine if the crime can be expunged, and how to do it. Your age at the time of the conviction and the specific level of the crime you were convicted for are two of the controlling factors. For a juvenile between the ages of 7 and 16 who is charged with a crime that would be a crime for an adult, a judge in the Family Court will decide whether to find that person a juvenile delinquent (JD). A JD adjudication should be automatically sealed but is still available to the criminal justice system (i.e., police and prosecutors). If your JD record failed to be sealed, to clear your JD status from the criminal justice system, file a Sealing Motion in the Family Court where your case was heard (NY Family Ct. Act 375.2(1), (6)). There are no filing fees. Juveniles age 16 or over may request the sealing of JD adjudication records not involving "designated felonies", such as first degree murder, arson, kidnapping and certain sexual abuse offenses (NY Family Ct. Act 301.2.). A JD record is sealed by filing a Notice of Motion and Affidavit with the courts within the specified time frame. The Court may seal the record if it is in "the interests of justice". If the court does not seal your record, you can file again in 1 year. If you are 16- 16, 17 or 18 and convicted of a crime as an adult, , the judge might treat you as a youthful offender (YO). A YO record is not a criminal conviction, is automatically sealed, and cannot be seen by anyone with a few exceptions (i.e., the criminal justice system, the public or private elementary or secondary school in which the youth is enrolled, and the statewide registry for orders of protection (CPL 720.35). A YO offense is heard in Criminal court, not Family Court. If your YO record was not sealed and still appears on your criminal record, your sealing motion will need to be filed using the same procedures outlined for sealing adult criminal records, "The Application Process" If your record should have been sealed but was not, then there are 3 simple steps to get it done. 1. Get a copy of your criminal record (rap sheet) online from one of the 2 agencies below. The cost ranges between $55.00 and $61.50. Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) at: http://www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ojis/recordreview.htm. This is a fingerprint based search and is only available to you or your attorney. Both sealed and unsealed information will be listed on it and marked accordingly. New York Unified Court System site at: http://www.nycourts.gov/apps/chrs/. This is not a fingerprint based search and so may not be as accurate as the one conducted by the DCJS. This shows your record as an employer will see it. 2. Take a copy of your record to the court where you were convicted (it will be listed on the record). Address, phone number, and hours of operation to the New York courts may be found at:http://www.courts.state.ny.us/litigants/courtguides/index.shtml Ask the clerk of the court for an "official disposition slip". Make sure that it has a seal on it. There is typically a $10.00 - $15.00 fee for this. 3. Mail the slip, along with a letter explaining that you want to have your case sealed, to the following address: Division of Criminal Justice Services Sealed Records Unit 4 Tower Place Albany, NY 12203-3764 In approximately 12 weeks your record should be sealed. You will not automatically be notified of this. You must confirm with DCJS that your record has been sealed by contacting them at the above address.
An expungement may be available after 5 years from the conviction. Options may have been available at the time of your plea which would have kept this off your record, (e.g. HYTA, 771.1, etc.) but at this point they are not available unless the case could be re-open. You may talk to an attorney in the area of your Court to explain the details of your case and see what, if anything could be done to re-open the case.
Georgia juvenile records are sealed, unless you were charged as an adult. Are you putting the juvenile case on your job applications? You shouldn't. A juvenile"conviction" is when the child is adjudicated delinquent. That is not treated the same way as an adult's conviction and doesn't count as one.
The expungement statute requires a period of five years after conviction before you can ask the court for expungement. There is no other way to expunge a record.
Your record should be sealed and not available on a background check. Are you sure that it's your record that's preventing you from getting a job or something else?
Juvenile cases can be sealed one year after probation has been completed. Contact the juvenile probation department in your county and ask them about the paperwork for getting your juvenile record sealed. They can help you figure out if your probation has been completed or not, and on what date that happened.
Go to the Utah Courts website and there is a connection to expungement. Juvenile records are not very difficult to take care of, if you wish you can hire an attorney to do this for you.
Your Juvenile records do appear on your criminal record. Upon your 18th birthday, you are eligible to petition to have your juvenile records sealed. Once they are sealed, no one can gain access to them and they will be completely destroyed five years from the date of sealing. However, your juvenile records are not automatically sealed upon your 18th birthday. You must affirmatively petition the juvenile court to have them sealed. Consult with an attorney to find if you qualify for this and how to proceed.
I don't know enough about your case, but there are some possibilities. It may be possible to re-open the case, based upon your "good behavior", upon which a judge might modify the plea so it is as deferral, and then based upon your behavior, the matter might be dismissed. To have any success at this would require that there be absolutely nothing on your record - including juvenile record. A criminal defense attorney may be able to help you with this. You are now learning the hard way about the consequences that go with impulsive decisions.
There is a procedure for having the case sealed however most people do not bother with it because nobody will see it or know about it unless you tell them. (Except the prosecutor if you get in trouble again.) When you turn in job applications you do not have to mention it because the applications ask about convictions. Almost all juvenile cases are not convictions, they are adjudications. If an employer does a background check they will not see your shoplifting case.
Juvenile records are sealed. When asked on a job application about criminal records that should only refer to ADULT records. In NH, 17 and over is an adult. If your conviction was in juvenile court (16 or younger) your perspective employer should not have access to those records.
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