The expungement process differs from state-to-state. Expungement is a legal term for sealing the criminal record. By having a criminal conviction expunged, the conviction will be deemed not to have occurred. However, in some cases, even an expunged record is still open for law enforcement purposes. In addition, applicants campaigning for public office or applying for a federal job are required to make their conviction public even if it were expunged.
6 Facts about Expungements:
- Even when a conviction has been expunged it can still be used against the defendant's sentence if the defendant is again convicted of a crime.
- Not all convictions are eligible for expungement. Laws differ state-by-state.
- In many states defendants can not expunge felony convictions or sex offenses.
- Convictions usually cannot be expunged until one year has passed and the defendant has completed serving the sentence or when the probation period has expired.
- Expungements usually may not occur if the defendant faces new charges.
- The federal law does not recognize state court expungement orders.
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