Expungements

New Jersey Expungement Lawyer

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Expungement Attorney

Your criminal record can cause significant problems with seeking employment, applying for student loans, obtaining certain housing options and much more. Even if your criminal arrest or charges against you did not result in a conviction, records of your case are available to the public and can haunt you for years. With the help of an experienced Pennsylvania or New Jersey expungement lawyer, you can identify if you are eligible for expungement and request that the court clear your adult or juvenile criminal record.

Former Bucks County Assistant District Attorney and criminal defense attorney Carla V. Risoldi has nearly 20 years of legal experience and has comprehensive knowledge of the expungement rules in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She provides our clients with straightforward advice regarding their unique situation and guides eligible individuals through the expungement process. Contact us at Risoldi Law Offices, LLC, to discuss your case with a skilled expungement lawyer.

Seal Your Criminal Record in New Jersey or Pennsylvania

If the court grants expungement of the records, it is as if the incident never occurred. All records related to your arrest, fingerprints, court appearances, pleas and disposition of the case are virtually sealed from the public, and will not appear in criminal background checks and other pertinent searches.

New Jersey Record Expungements

New Jersey courts allow individuals who have been arrested or convicted of certain criminal offenses the opportunity to expunge criminal records pertaining to their arrest, detention, conviction and any other records involving the incident. Depending on the severity of the offense, the individual must be arrest- and conviction-free for a number of years in order to be eligible for expungement. New Jersey expungement eligibility and waiting periods include:

Certain felony offenses — 10 years
Disorderly persons offenses and misdemeanors — five years
Ordinance violations — two years
Juvenile delinquency/adjudication of delinquency — five years (except if the offense would be ineligible for expungement if committed by an adult)
Drug offenses committed by minors — one year
Dismissed charges as a result of diversion program — six months
Arrests not resulting in conviction — no waiting period

Examples of offenses not eligible for expungement under New Jersey expungement rules include murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, criminal restraint, robbery, arson, perjury and certain other offenses.

Pennsylvania Record Expungements

Pennsylvania courts allow for the expungement of criminal records in very limited circumstances. An individual may be eligible for expungement in Pennsylvania in the following circumstances:

The individual is over 70 years old and has been free from confinement and arrest for 10 years
The individual has been dead for three years
The individual successfully completed Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD), a pretrial intervention program available to first-time offenders of nonviolent offenses such as DUI
The individual was convicted for underage drinking and has subsequently turned 21 and satisfied all terms of the imposed sentence or probation
The charges against the individual were dismissed, withdrawn or resulted in a "not guilty" verdict
The individual was convicted for a summary offense and has not been arrested or convicted in five years (summary offenses can include underage drinking, retail theft, disorderly conduct, harassment, public drunkenness or other minor offenses)

Certain circumstances in which the individual avoided a conviction as a result of completing Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition are barred from seeking expungement. This includes serious cases involving victims under the age of 18, such as rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure, prostitution and certain other offenses.

While Pennsylvania does not grant expungement of misdemeanor or felony convictions, certain individuals may be eligible for a pardon as an alternative.

Serving Clients in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Berks and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania and beyond, and throughout New Jersey

Langhorne: 215-741-3700 | Buckingham: 215-794-9300

The rules for eligibility and procedures for obtaining expungement of criminal records are extremely complex and are vastly different in each state. If you would like to obtain expungement of your adult or juvenile record, it is vital that you seek experienced legal counsel.

Risoldi Law Offices, LLC, offers reasonably priced criminal defense consultations that will give you useful information about expungements, your rights and practical advice about your options, regardless of whether or not you choose to hire us.

To schedule an initial consultation with criminal defense lawyer Carla V. Risoldi, call one of our Bucks County office locations or contact us online.