Pennsylvania Expungements Legal Questions

I guess you are asking if the felony can be expunged? No, felony convictions cannot be expunged. The thing to do is to get her criminal history so you actually know in fact what she has on her record. She may not have what she thinks she does on her record. If she does, her only remedy is a pardon. Expensive and time consuming.... Read More

In responding to your question, I must assume that you were referring to your county "ARD" program, rather than the ASP program.  Pennsylvania law permits expungement upon successful completion of an ARD program, however, every county handles the expungement process differently.  In some counties, adult probation will directly motion the court to issue an expungement order.  In others, the program participant must do so.  In my experience, even though an expungement order has been issued, errors do happen, which require additional action.  Additionally, your charges are not expunged in every instance.  For example, a state court judge's order directing expungement is rarely recognized by the federal government.  Therefore, your charges may still appear in a federal background check. If I may be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my office.... Read More

In PA you can only expunge crimes you were not convicted of, i.e. those that were nolle prossed, dismissed, withdrawn or you were found not guilty of. If you pled or were found guilty, you cannot expunge. You may want to get your criminal history from the the PA State Police to make certain if you were convicted and exactly what specific crimes.... Read More

My first guess would be that you do not perform the expungement properly.  This is a common problem.  I see this all the time when people try to do the expungement themselves or a lawyer who writes wills or handles business transactions helps a friend because this is "simple."  They succeed in optaining an expungement order but don't serve it on all necessary parties.  The result is the client thinks the arrest was expunged but it was only partially expunged, and if someone uses a more thorough background check it will show up.  That brings up another point - the expungement service you used may not be comprehensive enough.  You should do the expungement over again.  Read more about expungements here: http://fairlielaw.net/practice-areas/expungements/... Read More

You did not indicate the grade of your offense, but based on the fact that only a fine was paid, I will assume it was a summary offense.  If that is the case, the good news is that Pennsylvania provides for the expungement of summary offenses.  There is a rather formal process to seek expungements through the court system and I have had experience doing just that.  You are welcome to contact my office is you wish.... Read More

You can only expunge things that you were NOT convicted (plead or found guilty) of. You need to verify exactly what your stamp bag situation resulted in. If it was withdrawn or dismissed, you can expunge the arrest records. As far as you doing it on your own, forget about it. It is more complicated than filing out a form. Hire a lawyer for that.... Read More

Hi Maureen, based on previous experience handling these types of matters I realize how frustrating something like this can be...Here is a bit of information, I hope it helps.  Generally, a person arrested for a summary offense can petition the court for expungement (destroying the record) after five years from the date of the conviction.  Assuming that your retail theft case was a summary (based on your description it sounds like it is) you would likely be eligible for expungement.  I suggest that you obtain competent counsel who can help facilitate this process and make navigating the complicated system of paperwork a bit easier.  Good Luck.... Read More

You should contact a good lawyer who deals with firearms law (we do) as this is a very complicated area of the law and you are not likely to be able to resolve this without assistance.  You should bring all the paperwork from your commitment and anything you got when/if you were denied in an attempt to purchase firearms.... Read More

Both Shoplifting and DUI are both misdemeanors for first offenses. That means that you are eligible to have your record sealed after five years from the time of disposition. You may be able to do this yourself. Speak to the people in the probation department in the court where your charges were brought. If you feel that it is too much for you, you can hire an attorney. We are hired to seal records quite frequently. The courts are not designed for people to use themselves without legal aid, but you may be able to apply for the record sealing on your own.... Read More

I assume you are asking if you can get another copy of the certified Order.  You should have ordered an extra certified copy when you did the expungement as the Court usually destroys the original Order shortly after issuing it.  Then you must apply to the Court all over again, and since they have no file that can be difficult.  Hopefully you kept a certified copy.  This situation highlights one of the pitfalls of not involving a good lawyer in handling your expungement.... Read More

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I assume you are asking if you can get a second certified copy of your expungement Order.  This is why people should use a lawyer - if you don't keep a certified copy you frequently can't get another because the Court destroys its file, generally 30 days after the Order.   If you have a certified copy you can usually get more copies without re=filing, although if you do the expungement properly you won't ever need additional copies.  This is exactly why people should not do expungements without involving a good lawyer.  ... Read More