Having a criminal conviction or simply an arrest can leave a serious dent on a person’s social background. There are numerous things in life when a person’s background plays a crucial role. Be in during job interviews, school applications, claiming general benefits, seeking financial services from a bank and other areas. A criminal charge in the bio-data can compromise your chances of achieving better. It is a minor mistake from the past that leaves a stigma on your image. Luckily, one can file an appeal to expunge or seal the charges legally. Thus, cleaning your slate and giving you a second chance.
How does expungement work?
Every state has a certain stand on felonies and thus have a set of expungement laws. Depending upon the charges, the defendant’s role in the crime and their social background, a court can award expungement. Expunge appeals are primarily aimed at destroying or clearing the criminal charges from a person’s record. However, depending on the case, an expungement appeal can conclude with nondisclosure or sealing of records.
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What are the steps to filing an expungement request?
Filling an expungement appeal is driving by various constraints. And to get the best shot at your appeal, it is always better to opt for some professional help. An experienced Houston expungement attorney can guide you through the process and help you file an impactful appeal. There are various steps to it-
1. The defendant is required to submit an expungement request to a judge. This would be followed by a screening and preliminary review process, to test the eligibility of the appeal.
2. Once the request is taken into consideration, depending on the judiciary laws of the state, there is legal hearing.
However, there are a few pre-requisites to an expungement request.
1. The defendant has been cleared of the charges or resulted in a non-guilty sentence.
2. The crime under consideration must be expungeable.
3. All fines and sentences must be fulfilled before filling the request.
4. The defendant must have cleared the probation requirements.
What are the possible outcomes?
Not all expungement requests are granted. The legal proceedings of such petitions are primarily based on the criminal background of the felon, the crime under consideration and the victims. These are further driven by the defendant’s character background and activities. In some cases, the court would deny clearing the record. However, it may agree for a reduction or charges.
1. The court can agree for a non-disclosure. This means that records or charges would not be suspended and still be maintained by law enforcement organisations. But it would be protected under the law and no third party organisation like schools, banks, institutions can have to access them.
2. In certain cases, a judge can reduce the charges on the public record. This means the felony can be reduced to misdemeanour charges when being added to the official record.
Appealing an expungement can sometimes be tricky and it takes an experienced attorney to play the cards right. If you are facing such problems and are looking to file an expungement appeal, contact hire a Houston Expungement Attorney and get all the help you need.
