How To Get Your Criminal Record Expunged In Arizona

In the state of Arizona, employers, firearms dealers, creditors, the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), and property owners can request and perform background searches on you before they make certain formal agreements. Background checks consist of an individual’s criminal past, work history, driving conduct, and other records for any red flags that may influence an investigator’s decision. At Lane, Hupp, & Crowley, a Phoenix, Arizona legal company, we can assist you in erasing your criminal record efficiently and swiftly.

The laws of Arizona allow for persons convicted of felonies to clear their criminal history through expungement. Once your past criminal record is deleted, you can enjoy equal access to jobs and voting and generally experience many of the rights and advantages that people with no criminal record might overlook. Nonetheless, achieving that particular outcome is a complicated and time-consuming procedure requiring the assistance of experienced criminal defense attorneys like us.

Clearing Your Arizona Record Through A Court petition

“Setting aside judgment” is the legal term used in Arizona for expungement. Arizona’s Statute of Section 13-907 offers citizens to have their convictions set aside. The term essentially means that any individual found guilty can plead with the judge to have the verdict overturned after serving the term or completing the necessary probation. Once the authorities release an offender from probation or sentence, the law requires them to inform you of your right to initiate an expungement.

Undoubtedly, getting your criminal record effectively erased will offer you a slew of advantages. Among them are:

• It will make your job-seeking ventures in Arizona simpler.
• It will ease your possibility of restoring gun rights in Arizona.
• The government will most likely restore your right to vote in Arizona.
• You’ll get a notation indicating that your record was overturned and its charges were dropped.

Going through daily activities as a convicted felon hurts one’s living standards. Nonetheless, there’re criteria that individuals must fulfill for their expungement to be effective in the state of Arizona.

Expungements Of Your Criminal Record In Arizona

Before considering if a convict qualifies for expungement, note that certain offenses cant be overturned. Here are some of the crimes:

1. Felonies that inflict severe bodily harm disqualifies individuals from expungement.
2. Felonies involving the display or use of lethal weapons will disqualify individuals from applying for expungement.
3. If individuals were convicted of a heinous crime driven by sexual urges, they wouldn’t qualify for expungement.
4. Crimes committed against victims who are under 15 years do not qualify for expungement.
5. When a defendant engages in a road violation during a period when their licenses have been revoked or suspended, they won’t qualify for expungement.

If a conviction involves any of the above offenses, it can neither be set aside nor expunged. On the other hand, expungement can only be possible for individuals if the following criteria are satisfied:

1.An accused must fulfill all the conditions outlined in their initial sentence following their conviction, which include:

• The defendant must have fully served their prison or jail terms to qualify for expungement.
• An accused must have fulfilled their probationary terms to be eligible for expungement.
• The defendant must have fully honored their drug abuse treatment programs to be considered for expungement.
• If the court had ordered a defendant to do an anger management course, they must finish it before being eligible for expungement.

2.If you’re an offender, you’re not supposed to have further felony convictions for 90 days to 6 years after the conclusion of your initial jail term or probation linked to your original sentence.

If you believe that you can qualify for expungement, ensure that you’ve got your foot ahead while petitioning the courts. You can present various bits of evidence during your hearing, such as documents proving that you fully served your sentence. Also, you can submit documents proving that you haven’t gotten in any trouble with the authorities since your initial conviction.

If possible, also add additional information that can persuade a magistrate to offer you an expungement.

What If Dropped Charges Still Appear On Background Checks?

Prospective hiring managers can see your charges and arrests. However, it doesn’t constitute a conviction. Thus, it doesn’t result in your criminal history. It is just an unfounded accusation. Specific workplaces notice this but are oblivious to the distinction between convictions and charges. At the same time, other recruiters can presume that if an individual weren’t at fault, they wouldn’t have been arrested or prosecuted.

ARS 13-4051 enables individuals who have unjustly been arrested or prosecuted to ask the judge for a notation indicating that they had been acquitted. The judge can equally order police agencies and courts to refrain from disclosing or accessing such records. If the officials intentionally violate such orders from the judge, a legal charge will be leveled against them.

Remember that being unjustly detained or prosecuted doesn’t qualify as a sentence. When an individual is wrongly incarcerated or accused, it implies they are innocent. Even if a defendant is cleared since the prosecution couldn’t establish their guilt, they may nonetheless have broken the law. For instance, an individual may be charged with DUI only for their blood tests to come back clean, proving that they weren’t guilty.

Why Felony Conviction May Still Be Showing On Your Record

After completing probation of class 6 undesignated felonies, you can qualify for the courts to reduce it to a minor crime. Nevertheless, the courts don’t always immediately reduce it to a misdemeanor.

In case they don’t immediately reduce it to a non-indictable offense, you can initiate the process in two different ways:

And in case they don’t immediately reduce it to a non-indictable offense, you can initiate the process in two different ways: Your first alternative would be to request the officer in charge of your probation to submit a petition with the judge to reduce your record to a minor one once your probation is finished. The other option would involve your lawyer submitting a petition with the courts to have your felony reduced to a misdemeanor.

Although the expunction of convictions in Arizona is evident in respect to the necessary criteria, they may still trickle down to practical issues in line with how you present and defend your petition. It would be helpful if you contact us here at Lane, Hupp, & Crowley today to set up an initial appointment since a fresh start is crucial for different aspects in your future. Alternatively, you can visit our website at https://www.lhccriminallawyers.com/ to learn more about our services.

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Lane, Hupp, & Crowley
111 W Monroe St Ste. 1216
Phoenix AZ 85003
(480) 562-3482

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