Ofori Law Firm, LLC now offers a criminal expungement service for anoyone who needs their records clean of any crimes eligible to be expunged. Expunging your records becomes important because criminal records attached to you can affect you finding a job, renting or purchasing a a home, making certain purchases, or any other activity that requires a background check.
a wide range of legal services, including consultations, assistance with document preparation, and legal defense. See below for a detailed description of our services and typical cases, or contact us for more information about how our team can help you.
Expungement is the process of legally destroying criminal records. The process for having records expunged, the requirements, and the benefits vary by state. You should know that some jurisdictions don’t allow expungement while federal law prevents the courts from deleting records for some types of crimes. Generally, though, both arrest and prison records can be expunged for most purposes.
In addition to deleting the record from various legal databases, expungement also means that you aren’t required to disclose details of previous arrests or records for most purposes. Potential employers, landlords, or other companies won’t see the record if they do a background check.
Although career criminals probably won't be able to make their criminal record disappear, it might give you the fresh start you need for the future. If you committed a crime at some time during your past, it doesn’t have to control every aspect of the rest of your life. Criminal expungement of your criminal record allows you to:
· Lawfully tell employers you haven’t been convicted of a crime
· Apply for and receive student loans
· Apply for and receive a larger variety of licenses and certificates
· Gain eligibility for housing assistance
· Stop holding your breath every time someone does a background check on you
Without a criminal record holding you back, you have more opportunities for employment, for getting an education, and choosing where to live. You can even restore your voting rights and have the right to own a gun and a hunting permit. When you have financial difficulties, a criminal record can make you ineligible for public assistance. Once you have your record expunged, you have access to assistance programs when you need them the most.
People are often haunted by the mistakes of their past. When those mistakes are forever recorded as a criminal record, reminders pop up with everything you try to do. If you’ve ever thought that your life would be a lot better if you could erase your criminal record from your past, expungement might be the right solution for you. Once the process is completed, even those people closest to you never have to know about your mistake. Whatever happened in the past stays in the past.
Although you might get through the expungement application successfully, it doesn’t mean that your record is automatically wiped clean. It just means the court deletes your record from their database. There are many databases used in the criminal justice system. If you don’t have your record eliminated from each, you never know when your record might pop back up.
Expunged records aren’t really gone in the literal sense of the word. Some government agencies, law enforcement, criminal courts, and others can still view them.
Sometimes people have their criminal records sealed. While this is similar to having them expunged, it doesn’t offer the same level of protection. While sealed records aren’t available to the public, they still exist within the criminal justice system.
Your eligibility for expungement depends on the jurisdiction where the crime occurred and the nature of the crime or the charge. A certain amount of time must pass following your arrest or conviction before the record can be expunged. Your criminal record and the completion of any probation period are also determining factors.
Even if you never served time in prison, an arrest can show up on your criminal record. It doesn’t matter if the court overturns your arrest or finds you innocent. Some employers and landlords frown on any connection with a criminal past. Expungement with a previous arrest might be as important to your future opportunities as it is for a prison sentence.
In Maryland, your records may be eligible for expungement if:
- You did not serve a prison time for the crime to be expunged.
- The court judgment resulted in a dismissal, aquittal, probation before judgment (PBJ), a nolle prosequi, a stet, or you were not found criminally responsible.
- Three (3) years has passed since the judgment.
- You are currently not a defendant in any pending criminal action or proceeding
If the court finds you innocent or your records have been expunged, then you will recieve a Certificat of Compliance. A Certificate of Compliance is usually the last and most looked forward to forms of criminal expungement. It proves that your record never should have existed, or that your records are gone.
The expungement process differs in every state but it’s important to get it right the first time. If you make a single mistake during the application process, it could result in the delay or denial of your request. When you use our criminal expungement services, we help you follow the guidelines for your state.
Not all records are eligible for expungement. Arrests or convictions for felonies can’t be expunged. If you have multiple criminal records, you must submit a separate application to expunge each. We’ll provide you with the guidance you need to file for multiple expungements whenever necessary.
Today, criminal records go beyond the paperwork describing the criminal act and the legal process. DNA evidence, photos, and fingerprints are also included in numerous legal databases. If the courts have any of these forms of evidence in your criminal record, we’ll see that they get expunged too.
