Expungements

New Jersey Expungement Lawyers

New Jersey Expungement Lawyers

A disorderly persons or Municipal ordinance charge from a New Jersey Municipal Court, or Superior Court criminal charges showing up on a background check – even if the charges have been dismissed – can have a highly negative impact on your employment or educational prospects. The existence of a criminal record can also lead to the loss of a professional license, and can prevent you from purchasing a firearm. It can even impact your ability to act as a foster parent or adopt a child. The reasons for seeking the expungement of records are growing as quickly as the jobs and opportunities that require background checks and clean records. 

Expunging your criminal record provides you with a second chance to achieve your educational and professional goals, with a clean slate. This is especially important in today’s difficult job market, where any hint of a disorderly persons or criminal record can restrict your educational options and your employment prospects. After your record is expunged, if asked whether you have ever been convicted or charged with an offense or crime, you may answer, simply, “no.”

How Can We Help You

HOW CAN WE HELP? 

NJ expungement law changed recently, with expanded access as of June 15, 2020. The following provisions apply: 

In the case of the conviction of a Municipal Court ordinance, you must wait 2 years to expunge your record. In the event that you have been convicted of a Municipal Court disorderly persons offense, you must normally wait 5 years to expunge your record; however, you may expunge after 3 years upon a showing of “compelling reasons.” Up to five disorderly persons offense convictions may be expunged. However, disorderly persons convictions for marijuana and hashish related convictions, as well as for paraphrenalia, will not be counted towards this total. 

Convictions of indictable crimes for distribution of marijuana or hashish, when the marijuana weighed less than 5 pounds, or the amount of hashish weighed less than one pound, will, for expungement purposes, be treated as convictions for disorderly persons offenses. This is true even if the offense occurred within a thousand feet of a school, or within 500 feet of a public housing facility, public park, or public building. 

Even if you have been convicted of an indictable crime, you may be eligible to expunge your criminal record. In the past, if you had more than one indictable conviction, it could not be expunged. Under the new provisions, with more than one conviction, the most recent matter may be expunged, assuming that other requirements are met. 

Ordinarily, five years must pass from the conclusion of your probation or incarceration and parole, or payment of fines and penalties, before you are eligible to expunge your criminal conviction. However, due to recent changes to New Jersey law, you may be able to expunge a conviction for an indictable crime in as little as four years if the court finds that compelling reasons exist for an expungement. Further, with respect to expungement in the case of sale, distribution, or possession with intent to sell controlled substances (besides marijuana and hashish) in small amounts, you can expunge for similar compelling reasons. 

If your Municipal Court disorderly persons offenses or ordinance violations, or Superior Court criminal charges have been dismissed, or you were found not guilty of a crime, you are eligible for an immediate expungement. Further, if you have completed a conditional discharge, conditional dismissal, or pretrial intervention program, and six additional months have passed since the dismissal of your charges, you may expunge your diversion records. 

Even if you have exceeded the number of convictions of crimes and/or disorderly persons offenses that would ordinarily make you eligible for expungement, you may expunge otherwise eligible convictions after 10 years under New Jersey’s new “clean slate” provisions. 

Expungement is accomplished by filing a petition in the Superior Court-Law Division. Schwartz & Posnock has successfully petitioned for the expungement of criminal records in New Jersey since 1993. We have obtained the expungement of criminal and disorderly persons records in every case we have handled. The vast majority of our expungement cases do not require the petitioner’s appearance in court. 

As New Jersey criminal lawyers, we work aggressively to expunge your disorderly persons, ordinance violation or criminal record and will keep you informed every step of the way. We also make sure that the expungement order is directed to every law enforcement agency that may have a record of your criminal case. 

Having an experienced, aggressive criminal lawyer is critical to obtaining an expungement of your criminal, disorderly persons, or Municipal ordinance record, and can help to reestablish your good name. 

We can help with your expungement in New Jersey. We have offices in Essex County, Union County, Middlesex County and Monmouth County to serve your needs.

Mr. Schwartz represented me in a domestic violence case. His cross-examination of the “victim” shows that she was a total liar. The judge dismissed the case against me. David did a fine job for me. I recommend him to anyone.

Eric

Have You Been Charged with a Crime?

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Give Us A Call

(732) 544-1460

 

How Can We Help You

Mr. Schwartz represented me in a domestic violence case. His cross-examination of the “victim” shows that she was a total liar. The judge dismissed the case against me. David did a fine job for me. I recommend him to anyone.

Eric

Have You Been Charged with a Crime?

______

Give Us A Call

(732) 544-1460

 

With Over 35 Years of Experience