Have you ever found yourself with an arrest or conviction record, but you don’t think it’s relevant anymore? Are you considering applying to college or finding a job and want to make sure your past offenses won’t impede your progress? If so, expungement may be the solution you’re looking for to start your life again. Read on to learn about the five most crucial expungement requirements in New Jersey so you can get started on your case immediately.
1. Waiting time After the End of the Sentence
The amount of time you must wait until you can file for an expungement in New Jersey depends on the severity of your offense. For a disorderly person’s offense or petty disorderly person’s offense, you must wait five years from the date of completion of the sentence. Indictable criminal offenses require waiting five years after paying fines. However, if there are no other convictions on your record or under some compeling circumstances, the waiting period can go down to three years.
Suppose you’re filing for a clean slate expungement, which is a civil action by petitioning the court. Then, it’s important to note that the person requesting such action must not have any other arrests or convictions on their record within two years before filing for expungement and must wait for ten years. However, a New Jersey expungement attorney will help you understand timelines and what you require to protect your rights.
2. Have an Eligible Type of Record you Want to Expunge
You can erase most of your records, including arrest records, disorderly person offenses, petty disorderly person offenses, indictable offenses, juvenile delinquency adjudications, and convictions. To qualify for an expungement, you must have completed your sentence (for a criminal conviction) or completed the period of supervision (for a juvenile delinquency adjudication). If you have multiple arrests or convictions on your record, you can seek an order that applies only to one or more specific arrests or convictions.
However, severe convictions, such as murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, terrorism, human trafficking, arson, and false imprisonment, may not be eligible for expungement. It’s, therefore, crucial to hire an experienced attorney who understands the requirements of each type of charge and can help determine whether you are eligible for expungement.
3. The Applicant Must Not Have any Pending Charges
One of the most critical requirements for expungement in New Jersey is that the applicant must not have any pending charges against them. That means you’ll have to resolve all court charges before beginning the expungement process, whether or not they are related to the conviction you’ve petitioned. Additionally, you must wait a certain amount of time after sentence completion before you can file for expungement.
For example, if you are still on probation, it may not be possible to petition the court to remove your criminal record until after your probation has ended. However, it’s crucial to ensure you do not violate the probation terms and end up back in jail or prison. If you need help figuring out what to do, consult a lawyer specializing in criminal law. They will help ensure that everything goes smoothly with your expungement and keep you from getting into trouble again.
4. Not Convicted of a Crime During Expungement Waiting Period
After the conviction of a crime, you must wait five years after the completion of your sentence or after probation before you can file for expungement. If you are still on probation or parole when you file your petition, the court will automatically deny your request.
Also, suppose you commit a crime during the waiting period. In that case, you cannot apply for expungement until at least five years have passed since the commission of that offense and only after completing probation. A recent court decision made it clear that even if a jury trial acquitted you, any criminal record (even one not followed by conviction) would be enough to prevent an expungement.
5. No Previous Expungement Records
To get your record expunged in New Jersey, you must not have any previous expungement records. That means you cannot have had your record expunged before, even if it was for a different offense. If you have a prior expungement record, you will not be eligible for expungement in New Jersey. The only exception is if the other expungement happened outside of the state of New Jersey and is at least ten years old.
Also, you need to ensure that you do not have a conviction of another crime within three years of applying for an expungement. However, you can seal as many ordinance violations or petty crimes from public view as you want if you dont have a record of more than two indictable or disorderly person offenses.
Conclusion
To legally seal your criminal record records from public view in New Jersey, you must ensure that you meet all requirements. These requirements include: waiting a certain amount of time after your conviction, completing any sentence or probationary period, and not having any other convictions on your record. Additionally, it would help if you were not currently facing any charges and must have demonstrated exemplary behavior since your conviction. If you meet all of these requirements, then you can begin the process of petitioning for expungement. However, hiring an experienced attorney will allow you to navigate this complicated process easily. Lastly, suppose you succeed in sealing your criminal records from public view. In that case, it is crucial to maintain a good profile so that it does not affect your ability to get a job or rent property in the future.
