After a lengthy and tedious job search and months of waiting around for the phone to ring, you finally get your interview. After the interview your employer tells you that you are practically hired and that there is just one formality standing between you and your livelihood – a criminal background check. Potential employers, universities, landlords, state licensing boards, creditors, and firearm dealers often ask “have you have ever been convicted of a crime or arrested?” And with the recent move of criminal records to the internet, unlimited criminal background checks may be performed for pennies day. Prevent the public and the law enforcement agencies from viewing your criminal records by getting them “expunged” by the NJ Expungement Lawyer. By having your criminal records expunged, you prevent them from finding your criminal records and may legally tell them that you have no criminal record.
New Jersey laws allow for expungement of records from any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement or criminal justice agency. Only criminal records qualify for expungement. Generally, once the records are expunged, the public or the law enforcement agencies cannot view your criminal records or even see if you have them. The records become available only to designated agencies or people and only in limited circumstances (for example: setting bail, sentencing for a subsequent offense, determining eligibility for expungement of subsequent offenses). Contact a licensed NJ attorney to find out more about these circumstances.
Your eligibility for expungement is complicated and a lawyer should be consulted. Some crimes do not qualify for expungement. Generally, ten years must pass from the end of a sentence for crimes to be expunged, five years for disorderly person convictions, two for ordinance violations, and six months for arrests that did not result in a conviction. However, there are exceptions to these waiting periods and other statutory technicalities. A licensed attorney should be consulted to determine if you qualify to have your records expunged.
