It is official! You can now have certain misdemeanor crimes dismissed, or expunged, off your criminal record. When a crime is expunged off your criminal record, employers will no longer be able to see the crimes you were convicted of back in the day. With the new law in place, you will not be able to get every single type of crime expunged as only certain crimes can be expunged.
As you can imagine, someone with a rape or murder conviction will still be unable to have those types of crime dismissed off of their criminal record since they are not misdemeanors. Some types of crimes that can be expunged off of your criminal record include Assaults (certain kinds) and thefts. The crime of assault is a crime of violence and the crime of theft is a crime of dishonesty. It is fair to say employers will put you to the bottom of the hiring list if you have one of these convictions on your criminal record. Some well-known crimes you will be unable to expunge off your criminal record include OWI, domestic assault, harassment, and child endangerment.
As you know the legal process, there are a few conditions that need to be met before the crimes are officially expunged. Listed below are the conditions:
- More than eight (8) years must have passed since the conviction;
- The defendant has no pending criminal charges;
- The defendant has not been granted 2 deferred judgments; and
- The defendant has paid all court costs, fines, fees, restitution, and any other financial obligation ordered by the court.
Aside from the above conditions, the defendant is only allowed one (1) time in his or her entire life to have an expungement of their criminal record. It should also be noted that the burden is on the defendant to prove the above conditions after they file their application with the court. It is a good idea to speak with an expungement attorney about your past criminal charges to see if you can have them expunged from your record. By having assault and theft charges off your criminal record, it can greatly increase your chances of getting a job.
Feel free to contact the Feld Law Firm at (515) 996-4441 to schedule your free consultation.