Record Expungement

If you have otherwise put your conviction behind you, it can be extremely frustrating to have to continue to deal with the negative effect on your reputation. Especially in today’s competitive job market, having a mistake in your past can limit your opportunities going forward.

Having your record sealed or expunged removes any references to your prior criminal conviction cleared from public record. For certain crimes, even having been accused can have a negative impact on your reputation. If you were accused of a crime and the charges were dismissed or you were found not guilty, you may still be eligible to have the record of your charges expunged from your record.

Put the Past Where it Belongs and Move on With Your Life

With the court file sealed, the end result is that for all intents and purposes, you were never convicted of the crime. This enables you to truly put the past where it belongs and move on with your life. If a potential employer asks if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you can honestly answer “no” if your criminal record has been sealed.

There are certain restrictions on expungements and record sealing. In order to be eligible, you must:

• Be trying to expunge the conviction of a crime that qualifies for expungement
• Not have been subject to a mandatory prison term as a result of your conviction
• Have waited for the appropriate statutory waiting period to pass
• Not have any current criminal charges pending

There are some additional restrictions and conditions that may apply. Because expungement is such a technical process, it is important to work with a qualified attorney to have your record sealed. The last thing you want is to attempt to do this yourself, put in all the effort, only to be denied based on a technicality that an attorney could have warned you about at the outset.

Have Your Second Amendment Rights Restored

Another consequence of many criminal convictions is a loss of the right to bear arms. Especially in Ohio, the second amendment is considered an important one for many individuals, and the loss of that right is one that people feel keenly. When your second amendment rights are stripped from you, it is quite accurately referred to as a firearm “disability.”

An experienced attorney can help you seek “relief from disability” and have your second amendment rights restored to you if you meet certain criteria. Like expungement and record sealing, having your right to bear arms restored is not as straightforward of a process as it sounds. Filing paperwork in the wrong county or filling out forms incorrectly can lead to significant delays or denial of your request for relief. For an assessment of whether or not you qualify and assistance throughout the process, contact our firm for a free consultation.