Having a criminal conviction on your record can drastically reduce your options in life. It can hurt your ability to get a job, adopt a child, or live in certain places. You should consult an Expungement Attorney Arlington Virginia about the possibility of expungement so that one youthful mistake does not impose limits on you for the rest of your life. When a criminal record is expunged, it is as though the conviction never happened. A person is legally entitled to say “No” in response to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”
In many circumstances, a criminal conviction can be expunged, thereby removing it from the record permanently. Nevertheless, this can be a complex, multi-step process, which is why it is crucial to talk to an experienced New Jersey expungement lawyer who understands the system and knows how to make it work. If you wish to have your record expunged, contact a qualified Expungement Attorney Arlington Virginia today. When a person is arrested, or charged with any non-traffic offense, that person gets a criminal record. Depending on how far the legal proceeding went, the records could include complaints, warrants, DNA test results, fingerprints, photographs, and judicial docket records. Expungement laws vary greatly from state to state. Just because an expungement was obtained in one state, one cannot assume that the result will be the same in another state.
In general, relatively low-level criminal offenses qualify for expungement, as do first-time offenses. Individuals seeking this kind of removal will typically have to demonstrate to the court that they have avoided any criminal activity since the conviction. The Expungement Attorney Arlington Virginia can help the defendant demonstrate that they have avoided criminal activity, and put forth an argument for why the defendant’s record should be expunged. The courts will also allow expungement of arrests and court actions in which the defendant was found not guilty.
Some of the items on a person’s record that can be removed include expungement of forensic evidence, such as DNA, samples are allowed if there is no conviction or if a conviction was later overruled. Moreover, this also includes information about juvenile offenses can be sealed and later erased; arrest records can be removed if the individual never is charged or is subsequently exonerated; material from investigations into a child, spousal, or elder abuse also can be removed, and legal documents can be changed to fix inaccuracies. An individual seeking an expungement will need to supply detailed information about the matter, including the case number, the name of the arresting agency, the date of the arrest and the charge that was filed. Expungement Attorney Arlington Virginia who has experience dealing with the criminal courts can help assemble all the facts that are needed.
There is another option that is known as a “Certificate of Rehabilitation.” This certificate is not as wide-ranging as expungement, but it does remove statutory impediments to obtaining a professional license. It may also convince prospective private employers, proprietors, and adoption agencies to disregard the criminal record that can otherwise cause a problem. If you believe your life is being limited unfairly due to something on your record, talk to the Expungement Attorney Arlington Virginia today to see if the expungement process can help.