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Expungement Lawyer Services

Living with a criminal arrest or conviction on your record can seriously restrict your life and any future options you may pursue. Certain types of employment, the ability to work or volunteer around children, adoption eligibility, state licensing boards and other significant opportunities may be negatively affected by possessing a criminal record. The good news is that the state of New Jersey offers the chance to have your criminal record expunged for certain offenses after a specific waiting period.

The expungement process in NJ can be very confusing and complicated, though. Having a seasoned NJ expungement attorney on your side can help you save time and frustration in clearing your record. The burden is on the petitioner in order to have a record expunged, and for this, you need an experienced criminal lawyer on your side to increase your probability of success.

Improve Your Petition with an Experienced Expungement Attorney

Getting your criminal record expunged can be a tedious and frustrating process. Work with one of the seasoned defense attorneys at Villani & DeLuca to ease the process and increase your chances of acceptance. With years of experience helping petitioners achieve expungement, our criminal lawyers save you time and aggravation by helping you through the process or fighting your case at a hearing if necessary. Call (732) 709-7757 night or day to speak with a qualified attorney and find out whether your arrest or conviction can be expunged.

What is Expungement?

Record expungement is the complete erasure of your criminal charges from public record. This means that any arrests or convictions properly expunged will no longer appear on public record searches through governmental sources, including the courts, police and even the FBI.
Not all types of charges are eligible for expungement. Consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney for the details on your particular case. In general, however, disorderly persons charges, petty disorderly persons charges, municipal ordinance violations and certain indictable crimes may be expunged after a certain waiting period. This includes many third and fourth degree drug convictions.

Expungement of Indictable Crimes

Indictable convictions are able to be expunged 10 years after completing all sentencing requirements and paying any applicable fines. However, according to NJ law, indictable convictions are only eligible if it is their only indictable charge and the person also has less than 2 disorderly persons charges in their past. Many types of indictable charges do not qualify for expungement, including robbery, many violent crimes, arson, kidnapping, conspiracy, aggravated assault, and rape, among others.

A recent law in NJ now allows for the possibility of indictable crimes to be expunged after only a minimum of five years. In order to get your case expunged early, you must prove that expungement is in the “public interest.” Proving this is not an easy task, and the burden is on the petitioner, so finding a qualified expungement attorney can greatly improve your chances of success.

Your attorney can help you save time and aggravation by creating a petition and drafting any necessary affidavits and paperwork in order to demonstrate why having a clean record is critical to your ability to contribute to society. Additionally, a NJ expungement lawyer knows which agencies must be notified in order to secure a complete expungement.

Expungement of Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) Convictions

Select drug charges may have an option for expungement. Qualifying offenses include: distribution or possession with intent of marijuana in less than 25 grams; possession with intent or distribution of hashish in quantities less than 5 grams; any CDS conviction or arrest in the third or fourth degree.

Expungement of Lesser Crimes

Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons charges are able to be expunged in five years after the sentence has been finished. Municipal ordinance violations bear a two year timeline for expungement. Offenses offered pretrial intervention or conditional discharge may be expunged in New Jersey within 6 months of completing any penalties. If you have been arrested for anything, where the charges were later dismissed, these records may be expunged immediately.

Contact Villani & DeLuca Today

Don't let a bad decision or silly mistake in your past haunt your life today. If you were arrested or charged with a disorderly persons, 3rd or 4th degree CDS offense or first-time indictable offense, contact the legal team at Villani & DeLuca to have your record expunged and start over with a clean slate. Clearing your record can open doors that were previously closed to you. Call (732) 709-7757 today for a free consultation to learn more about your individual case.

Contact Us Today

Villani & DeLuca, P.C. is committed to answering your questions about Divorce & Family Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and DWI & Traffic Law issues in New Jersey. We offer a Free Consultation and we'll gladly discuss your case with you at your convenience. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

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