Not all wrongdoers stay criminals for life. Some of them want to start afresh, far from the judging eyes of those around them. In most cases, especially in the US, those ‘former criminals’ tend to transfer their residence to another state. But how can they start a new life if work places won’t accept those with criminal records? Thus, the expungement of criminal records became a solution.
How do criminal expungements work? Expungement literally ‘conceals’ the criminal records committed by a person from the prying eyes of the public, though not from the Police. Expungement Laws, however, mostly vary from every US State, the kind of crime or misdemeanor that was committed by the person involved and whether the victims had o had not received restitution from the criminal.
If the former criminal is qualified or eligible for a criminal expungement, he or she must do these steps:
- Petition – the former criminal must file a motion for expungement, indicating his personal details, the crime/misdemeanor etc. to the court. The court will confirm whether he or she is qualified or not. The Police will also receive the same petition.
- Hearing – depending on the State, the court will then set or schedule a hearing where you can explain for yourself why you’re qualified for expungement. This also gives the victims or anyone who opposes your expungement to explain their sides, too.
- Wait for the Verdict – once both sides are heard, the judge will then issue the verdict. If it’s in the former criminal’s favor, the judge will then issue an expungement order to the Police who, in turn, will seal the records.