Expungements Legal Questions

In Virginia you can only expunge a criminal record if you are "actually innocent" meaning that the charges were dropped, you were tried and found not guilty, or the case was "otherwise dismissed." If you pled guilty as part of a plea bargain, which is extremely common, even with first offenses, then you cannot expunge that record. Unfortunately, any convictions will be part of your permanent record. However, I have recently seen some judges grant people's request for expungements on cases where they plead guilty, even though that is clearly against what the statute says.  However, in those cases, the charges were very old, like ten years or more, with no further offenses in the meantime. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.... Read Answer

   It is unclear from your question whether or not you were actually charged with an offense. If your record is due to an arrest where no charges were filed, there are mechanisms to expunge or seal that arrest even though you live out of the State of Illinois. If you were charged and you failed to appear in court, there may be other legal issues, including the possibility of an outstanding old warrant for your arrest.   Please contact an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Experienced counsel should be able to advise you the best means necessary to proceed.   This posting is meant for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship between the parties. Lori G. Levin Attorney at Law 180 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 3700 Chicago, IL 60601 312-972-3756 levin@lorilevinlaw.com www.lorilevinlaw.com... Read Answer

Certain convictions can be vacated, depending on the type of crime, and the length of time since the terms of the sentence were completed. If it is vacated, then the guilty plea is withdrawn, a non-guilty plea is entered, the case is dismissed, and the conviction is vacated. It needs to be filed in the court where the conviction took place. It also needs to be served on the prosecuting attorney for that jurisdiction. I handle these for people on a regular basis.... Read Answer

We do 3 expungements per week and we are seeing errors by municipal courts and agencies. After the expungement, we keep doing criminal background checks to insure no errors. You should first fix the errors. We may be able to help. you then will know the cause of the error. A lawsuit would be very expensive and difficult to win. Fixing the error is far less costly. Ed dimon,esq. 732-797-1600... Read Answer

In Virginia you can only expunge a criminal record if you are "actually innocent" meaning that the charges were dropped, you were tried and found not guilty, or the case was "otherwise dismissed." If you pled guilty as part of a plea bargain, which is extremely common, even with first offenses, then you cannot expunge that record. Unfortunately, any convictions will be part of your permanent record. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.... Read Answer

the proper answer can be given after we review the actual convictions. the statute requires the listing of all arrests and all convictions. the statute allows for the expungement of one conviction unless one can argue that the convictions were related and done at the same time. we have good success with complex expungements. please call to discuss. ed dimon, esq. 732-797-1600... Read Answer

Assuming that your charge is eligible for expungement (it must have been dropped by the prosecutor or you were tried and acquitted or the charge was otherwise dismissed), then you can file a petition with the Circuit Court in the county in which you were charged.  After filing, you will have take a court-stamped copy of the petition to a police station (call ahead because only certain substations do this) and have your fingerprints taken.  They will forward these to the state police, who will enter them into their system and forward the fingerprint card back to the court.  Once this process is completed (which can take a few months), you can request a hearing for the court to enter your order for expungement.  Once the order is entered, it will be forwarded back to the state police for them to erase all records of the charge from their database.  Ordinarily all of the paperwork must be prepared by the petition, so it is many times simpler to have a lawyer do it for you.  I'm not sure if forms are available. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.       ... Read Answer

Sometimes, marijuana cases are taken under 7411, a statute that allows them to come off your record. The notion that you never heard from probation may not be a good thing. The first thing you need to discover is what your record shows. Only then can you deal with getting something off your record. State of limitations has nothing to do with this discussion.... Read Answer

It can help you secure employment. In CA, an employer cannot discriminate against you for having a conviction expunged. Your prior conviction will be set aside. You will enter a plea of not guilty and the case will be dismissed. So you can legally answer no prior conviction on your job applications. If a background check is done, the conviction may appear as an expungement. Showing a fresh start. The only area of concern is that if you want to be a police office or work for the state lottery, an expungement may not help you. Also if you want to obtain a state license, you will need to do more than an expungement.... Read Answer