Expungement Attorney in New Jersey

An arrest or criminal record in New Jersey can follow you for the rest of your life, affecting your ability to secure housing, employment, financial services, or educational opportunities. Fortunately, New Jersey allows people to effectively erase their criminal records under certain circumstances – provided they meet the eligibility requirements and follow specific court procedures.

Expungement is complicated, and the stakes are high, which is why you should not attempt it alone. A New Jersey expungement lawyer from the Law Office of Jason A. Volet can help determine whether you can seek expungement and guide you through the process. A former prosecutor with over 15 years of experience handling misdemeanor and felony cases, Jason A. Volet’s certification from the New Jersey Supreme Court as a criminal trial attorney speaks to the skill and resources he can bring to your case. He uses his extensive experience to help clients pursue the best possible results so they can move forward with their lives. 

Hiring legal counsel to assist with your expungement application can help you avoid unnecessary delays or denials of your application due to mistakes. Don’t put your future at risk. Instead, contact the Law Office of Jason A. Volet for a free initial case review with a New Jersey expungement attorney to discuss your options for a fresh start after an arrest or conviction. 

What Is Expungement?

New Jersey law allows specific criminal offenders to expunge their criminal records. An expungement can give a person arrested or convicted of a crime a clean slate and a second chance without the baggage of a criminal record.

In New Jersey, expungement does not delete or destroy criminal records. Instead, it removes criminal records from public access. Expunged records should not appear in background checks for employment, housing, or other applications, except for jobs in law enforcement, corrections, or the judicial branch. Someone who expunges their criminal record gains the legal right to deny that the expunged arrest or conviction occurred when applying for most employment, housing, education, or licenses. However, the record is still available in limited circumstances, such as for law enforcement, the courts, or the Department of Corrections.

Although expungement gives arrestees and criminal offenders a clean slate, New Jersey does not automatically grant expungement in most cases. Instead, individuals with criminal records must request the expungement of those records. State law also sets eligibility requirements and restrictions for obtaining expungement.

How Can a Criminal Record Affect My Life?

Having an arrest or conviction record can severely limit your opportunities. Many employers, landlords, schools, and financial institutions conduct background checks on people who apply for jobs, housing rentals, academic programs, or loans. Unfortunately, a criminal record that shows up in your background check can reflect badly on you and result in the denial of your applications for employment, housing, or other opportunities – even if an arrest resulted in a dismissal or acquittal. Some employers may automatically disqualify applicants with specific criminal convictions on their records.

People with criminal records face significant challenges securing stable housing, education, or career advancement. Expungement can remove the stigma of a criminal record and enable you to move forward after completing your sentence and demonstrating that you can live a law-abiding life.

What Information Is Removed by an Expungement?

Expunging a criminal record for a specific offense that you were arrested for or convicted of will remove various types of records from public access. Expungement affects any record of your criminal charge held by a law enforcement or criminal justice agency, a court, or a detention/correctional facility. Examples of records hidden by expungement include:

• Arrest records
• Processing (“booking”) records
• Fingerprints
• Photographs (“mug shots”)
• Arrest warrants
• Criminal complaints
• Indictments
• “Rap sheets”
• Judicial docket records from criminal prosecutions
• Commitment

When May I Petition for Expungement?

Depending on the type and severity of your criminal charges, you may have to wait before you can file a petition to expunge your records. Here are the relevant waiting periods for a variety of circumstances:

How Do I Qualify for Expungement?

Waiting periods for expungement of criminal convictions begin once a person has completed the sentence for the conviction, including payment of fines and completion of any term of parole or probation. They do not begin when the court hands down the conviction and sentence.

The law also limits the number of offenses a person may expunge from their record. Individuals with more than the maximum number of offenses may not petition for expungement except under the Clean Slate Law. Someone seeking to expunge juvenile offenses can only qualify if they do not have a delinquency adjudication or adult conviction on their record.

Are There Certain Crimes That Cannot Be Expunged?

New Jersey bars offenders from expunging criminal records of convictions for some serious criminal offenses. Criminal offenses ineligible for expungement include:

• Murder
• Sexual assault
• Aggravated sexual assault
• Aggravated criminal sexual contact
• Criminal sexual contact with a minor
• Endangering the welfare of a child
• Arson
• False swearing
• Perjury
• Robbery
• Child pornography offenses
• Kidnapping
• Luring or enticing
• Human trafficking
• Terrorism
• Treason
• Producing or possessing chemical weapons, biological agents, or nuclear/radiological devices

The law also excludes other offenses from expungement, including motor vehicle offenses, DWI convictions, certain drug crimes, and crimes committed in connection with service in elected or appointed public office. Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of these non-expungeable charges also cannot be removed.

How Many Offenses Can I Expunge?

New Jersey limits the number of disorderly persons (misdemeanor) offenses and indictable crimes (felonies) that a person may expunge from their criminal record. A person seeking to expunge disorderly persons convictions may have up to five disorderly persons offenses on their record. State law typically allows people to expunge only one conviction for an indictable crime, and petitioners seeking to expunge an indictable crime conviction may not have more than three disorderly persons convictions on their record. However, a person may obtain expungement of multiple felony convictions if they were part of a single judgment or closely related and committed as part of a single criminal spree over a short period.

New Jersey’s Clean Slate Law allows convicted offenders to expunge all the offenses on their criminal record, except for the serious crimes barred from expungement.

How Can a Lawyer Help with My Expungement?

In most cases, someone wanting to expunge their criminal record must file a petition with the court. However, the court can deny a petition if it finds that a person does not qualify for expungement or for another good cause. Although New Jersey now has an online application system for expungement petitions, preparing and filing an expungement petition still involves significant preparation and work, and the state encourages you to seek the help of a lawyer.

The expungement petition starts with locating and requesting copies of the criminal records you wish to expunge, including arrest records, the judicial docket from your prosecution, or the judgment of conviction/sentence.

Next, you must fill out and file the petition for expungement. The petition must include:

• The date of your arrest
• The statute number for the offense
• The date you were convicted or pled guilty
• Your case’s results
• The status of any penalties that came with your sentence

If the court orders a hearing on an expungement petition, an attorney can appear on your behalf. However, in some cases, the court will require you to appear even if represented by counsel.

Making an error on your expungement application or failing to include all required information may delay the approval of your petition or lead to the court denying your petition, which can require you to start over from the beginning. Rather than risk this possibility, work with an experienced New Jersey expungement lawyer, who can help you by:

• Reviewing the facts of your case to determine your eligibility for expungement
• Explaining the expungement process to you and ensuring you understand what expungement does and does not do to your criminal record
• Locating and gathering all relevant criminal records for the charge(s) or conviction(s) you want to expunge from your record
• Completing and filing your expungement petition package accurately and persuasively
• Appearing in court on your behalf at an expungement hearing or preparing you for what to expect if the court requires your appearance
• Presenting compelling arguments to convince the judge to grant your petition, including responding to objections raised by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, or corrections officials

What Happens After an Expungement?

After the court grants your expungement petition, it will issue an order to all New Jersey law enforcement and criminal justice departments and agencies with records relating to the expunged offense to seal those records from public access.

A sealed record should not appear on public background checks, such as checks conducted by a prospective employer, landlord, financial institution, educational institution, or insurance provider. However, expunged records will continue to appear in background checks conducted for specific types of government employment, including in law enforcement/criminal justice agencies, corrections departments, or judiciaries. Some federal agencies, including USCIS, ICE, and the military, can also access expunged records.

After an expungement, you gain the legal right to deny that the expunged arrest or conviction occurred during an application or interview, except for law enforcement, corrections, or judiciary employment. When an employer, bank, landlord, or school asks you, “Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime,” you may answer “No” concerning the expunged offense.

Contact Our New Jersey Expungement Lawyers

Are you interested in having your criminal record expunged? If so, experienced legal counsel in your corner can make the process more straightforward and less stressful. Contact the Law Office of Jason A. Volet today for a free, confidential consultation with a New Jersey expungement lawyer to discuss your eligibility and learn more about the process.