Expungements
Expungement Lawyers Can Help with Your Record
On April 2, 2014, the Alabama Legislature finalized and passed the Alabama Expungement Law. The bill (SB108) authorizes a person charged with certain nonviolent felony or misdemeanor criminal offenses, violations, traffic violations, or municipal ordinance violations the chance to petition the circuit court to have his or her records expunged.
Expungement – which covers arrest records, fingerprints, photographs, or index references in documentary or electronic form relating to the arrest or charge (or both) – means that the charge is erased, and is deemed to have never happened in the eyes of the court. This means that you can expunge a criminal record and keep it from appearing on background checks, job applications, credit checks, and other similar procedures.
There are a limited set of circumstances for expungement in Alabama. For example, you cannot have been charged with a violent felony. Also, for nonviolent misdemeanors, you have to have had the charge dismissed with prejudice, had the charge dismissed without prejudice, been acquitted or had the charge no billed and the required time requirements are met without the charge being refiled and you haven’t been convicted of another crime (other than minor traffic violations).
You may also be able to expunge criminal records if you have successfully completed a drug program, a diversion program, veteran’s court, a mental health program sponsored by the court, or another deferred-prosecution program – and it has been one year since you completed the program.
Expungement gives you a golden opportunity to clear your record – but the process can be lengthy, and approval is at the sole discretion of the court. That is why having experienced expungement lawyers to help you is of paramount importance. The professionals at Shane A. Taylor & Associates, P.C., have the skill and experience you need to guide you through the process, from start to finish, to give you the best possible chance of having your record successfully expunged.
Contact Shane A. Taylor & Associates, P.C. if you or someone you know seeks to expunge a criminal record.