The potential of getting your criminal record expunged, even if the crime you committed was a minor one, has never been easy. From the amount of time it takes for an offense to be cleared, to the limited number of crimes that were included for consideration, and even taking into account the ability of employers to ask potential employees about past criminal offenses, are all evidence of the daunting task ex-offenders face after they have paid their debt to society. With the new legislature that was just recently signed in December, however, ex-offenders from New Jersey will finally have an easier route to try and get their prior offenses taken off of their record for good. The new laws that received bipartisan support were signed by Governor Chris Christie before he left office and will go into effect on October 1st, 2018. Which means that this year many people with a minor criminal history will finally have the chance to lead better lives by expunging their records and finding new jobs without the fear of their criminal record coming back to haunt them. Some of the new changes that will help ex-convicts expunge their criminal record in New Jersey include:
- Juveniles and youths that were guilty of committing minor crimes will now be able to get that crime cleared from their record in only three years instead of five.
- Adults that were guilty of committing a crime will now be able to try and get it cleared from their record in six years instead of ten years, and in some cases, it may even be reduced to as little as five years.
- In the past criminal convictions could be cleared from a person’s record if there were no more than two additional disorderly persons or petty disorderly people’s convictions, this new legislation has raised that number to three.
- The new number of disorderly or petty disorderly person’s convictions that are able to be cleared from one’s record is now four, previously it had been three.
- Going forward convictions can be cleared from one’s record if the person trying to get the crime expunged has had any number of criminal charges dismissed as a product of the completion of a diversion. Previously there had been a threshold on this but starting in October this will no longer be the case.
The laws on what criminal laws in New Jersey can be expunged by ex-convicts are starting to change, but with that also comes an unfamiliarity with how this will all end up working in a court of law. If you or someone you love find yourself in a situation like this you should contact the Davis Law Firm today to schedule a consultation. The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney/client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.
