What Can You Do About A Past Criminal Charge?

In the digital age, criminal records can have a longer lasting impact on a person’s life. The Internet has made it easy to locate criminal records, even if they are over a decade old.

Those wishing to avoid any impacts a past criminal offense may have on their life have two options: sealing and expunging. Sealing a record means that it still exists and may still be accessible with a court order, while expunging means that the record is deleted and can no longer be accessed. Each process comes with its own qualifications and procedure.

You are eligible to have your criminal record expunged if you meet the following qualifications:

1. You have no prior criminal convictions.

2. You have not had any prior records sealed or expunged – unless you are seeking to expunge a record that has been sealed for 10 or more years.

3. The State filed a No Information, a “Nolle Prosqui”, or the case was dismissed.

You are eligible to have your criminal record sealed if you meet the following qualifications:

1. You have no prior criminal convictions.

2. You have not had any prior records sealed or expunged.

3. You have received a Withholding of Adjudication on a current charge, or a Pre-Trial Intervention Dismissal.

Barnett Woolums represents clients for sealing or expunging at a flat rate of $1000 (plus costs). Contact the office at (727)-525-0200 for more information on sealing or expunging procedures. This article is for general information purposes only, contact the office to see if your charge qualifies.