DO YOU QUALIFY FOR AN EXPUNCTION OR FOR OTHER RELIEF FROM A NORTH CAROLINA CRIMINAL CHARGE OR CONVICTION?
First, what is an expunction?
An expungement erases all evidence of a criminal charge or judgment, as if it never occurred. For example, a person entitled to an expunction may omit any reference to the charges or convictions to potential employers and others. A records check for prior arrests and convictions should not disclose the expunged entries. Additionally, no person as to whom such an order has been entered shall be held guilty of perjury, or guilty of otherwise giving a false statement or response to any inquiry made for any purpose, by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge any expunged entries concerning apprehension or trial.
Do you qualify for an expunction? It depends on your circumstances.
You get one expunction in your life under all the below various scenarios but your attorney may be able to obtain more than one expunction of dismissed charges that occurred within a 12 month period or during one court session.
The expunction types follows:
a) NEWS FLASH: Have you ever been convicted of a "nonviolent" felony or misdemeanor, at least 15 years have passed since you have completed the conviction's sentence, you have no other convictions other than for a traffic violation and you have not received another expunction?
This new law, which applies to driving while impaired convictions, goes into effect for petitions filed after December 1, 2012. Under this statute a person may obtain expunction of multiple nonviolent felonies and nonviolent misdemeanors if disposed of in the same court session.
b) Were you convicted of misdemeanor larceny more than 15 years prior to the filing of your expunction petition?
If so, you must file a petition in the court where you were convicted for expunction of a misdemeanor larceny conviction before December 1, 2012. Effective December 1, 2012, this statute has been repealed. The larceny conviction must have occurred at least 15 years prior to the filing of the petition.
c) Were you are a first offender under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of an offense and convicted for a nonviolent felony?
You may file a petition in the court where you were convicted for expunction of the nonviolent felony from your criminal record. In this situation, you must file your petition no earlier than four years after the date of the conviction or when any active sentence, period of probation, and post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later. You must also have performed at least 100 hours of community service, preferably related to the conviction, before filing a petition for expunction under this section. We will help you determine if this nonviolent felony expunction applies to you.
d) Were you were under the age of 18 when you pled guilty or were found guilty of a misdemeanor charge?
If you were under the age of 18 when you pled guilty to or were found guilty of a misdemeanor, other than a traffic violation, you may file a petition in the court where you were convicted for an expunction of the misdemeanor from your criminal record. You have to wait 2 years from the last court proceeding or the end of your probationary period to file the petition.
e) Were you under the age of 21 when you pled guilty or were found guilty of a misdemeanor possession of alcohol charge?
If you were under 21 when you pled guilty or were found guilty of a misdemeanor possession of alcohol charge, you may file a petition in the court where you were convicted for an expunction of the misdemeanor from your criminal record. You can file the petition no earlier than 2 years after the date of the conviction, or the completion of any period of probation, whichever occurs later.
f) Have you ever been charged with a misdemeanor or felony that was dismissed?
If you were charged with a crime, either a misdemeanor or a felony, and the charge was dismissed, or a finding of not guilty or not responsible was entered, you may apply to the court of the county where the charge was brought for an order to expunge that charge from court records.
This type of expungement may apply to multiple charges as long as the offenses occurred within the same 12-month period of time or the same term of court. There is no requirement that the multiple offenses arise out of the same transaction or occurrence or that the multiple offenses were consolidated for judgment. This means that you may request to have expunged unrelated criminal charges that occurred during one 12 month period and were dismissed.
g) Were you a first offender under the age of 18 at the time of your conviction for certain gang offenses?
If so, you may qualify for an expunction.
h) Were you a first offender not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain drug offenses?
If so, you may qualify for an expunction.
i) Have you ever been the victim of identity theft?
If so, you may file a petition in the court where you were convicted for an expunction of a charges arising from the identify theft, when charges are dismissed or there are findings of not guilty as a result of identity theft.
j) Has your driver eligibility certificate ever been revoked?
If your permit or license has been revoked because of not attending school and then the NC DMV subsequently reinstates your permit or license after you satifsy it that you are attending school or justifiably unable to do so, the DMV must expunge any record of revocation or suspension from your driving record. However, an expungement is only allowed if you have never before received any expunction. This new law only applies to reinstatements occurring on or after December 1, 2013.
3)Does an expunction really work?
In these days of internet court calendars where the names and birthdates of all North Carolina criminal and misdemeanor defendants are listed for the world to see, can an expunction really erase all traces of this event?
That law provides that a State agency that receives an certified copy of an expunction order shall notify any private entity with which it has a licensing agreement for bulk extracts of data from the agency criminal record database to delete the record in question. The private entity shall then notify any other entity to which it subsequently provides in a bulk extract data from the agency criminal database to delete the record in question from its database.
A private entity that disseminates information in violation of the above is liable for any damages, including attorneys' fees and court costs, that are sustained as a result of the violation by the person who is the subject of that information. Private entities that do not have licensing agreements with the State are not required to delete records.
4) If you do not qualify for an expunction as outlined above, are you eligible for any other relief from a criminal or misdemeanor conviction?
If you have been convicted of no more than two lower level felonies or misdemeanors in one court session and have no other convictions for a felony or misdemeanor other than a traffic violation, you may petition the court where you were convicted for a Certificate of Relief relieving collateral consequences. Twelve months must have passed since you completed your sentence, including active time, if any, and any period of probation, post-release supervision, and parole related to the offense that is required by State law or court order. There are some other requirements as well.
What does a certificate of relief accomplish? In some circumstances, a certificate of relief can:
(1) Remove a motor vehicle license suspension, revocation, limitation, or ineligibility imposed pursuant to Chapter 20,
(2) Remove certain prohibitions on possession of firearms.
(3) End requirements imposed by, and any statutory requirements or prohibitions imposed as a result of registration as a Sexually Violent Predator.
(4) Make you eligible for certification pursuant to the North Carolina Justice or Sheriff training.
(5) Make you eligible for employment as a certain type of state employee if the ineligibility is a sanction imposed by a statute or session law of North Carolina.
Take advantage of the legislature;s gift and begin the process of removing old mistakes from your record. Call us today and start over with a clean slate!