Expungement questions.

R

rhgunguy

Moderator
About a year ago I met a young lady who was dating my friend. I am inquiring about this on her behalf.

When she was 17 she fell in with the wrong kind of guy, and like 17 year old girls are known to do when "in love" she went along with everything he said. She fell into drugs and that is how he had her hooked. One day they were driving in South Dakota and he decided that he was going to rob a liquor store. He was armed and she drove. They got caught and she was sentenced as an accesory as an adult to three years. She was a model inmate and served one year and is now on probation. She is now 21, maintains a good GPA at the local Community College, stays out of trouble and will proudly tell anyone she meets that she has been clean for four years.

Now she is a few semesters away from graduating with a degree in Vet Science, but looking at a tough road as far as finding employment with a felony conviction. Further, my friend wants to propose to her and get married when they finish school. He does own guns and as soon as they started dating he asked me to take possesion of them so that she could not get into trouble. He will gladly continue this arrangement in order to wed this girl.

She however confided in me that she will never say yes to marriage while a felon. She knows that it can be expunged, but does not know the particulars. Neither do I, thus my questions:

1)How to go about the expungement?
1a)I know it requires going before a judge, does it have to be in the jurisdiction that the offense was commited in or will any criminal judge do?
2)Does she have to complete her probation(this one I kind of figured was a "yes")?
3)Will her fiance/husband be able to keep his guns at their home once it goes through(my safe is getting full;))?
4)What are her chances?(keep in mind that from the day she was released she has been a model citizen, keeps good grades, abides by all conditions of her parole and is just looking to erase the one stupid mistake she made as a teen)?
5)Does all record of the offense truly disapear? I have been made to understand that vets use drugs that are controled substances and she may have to pass a background check.

I don't expect some of you to understand, that is fine, but I ask that you keep your responses on the helpful side as she will be reading all of them. When I first found out I was wary, but knowing this young lady has made me rethink my "Theory X" veiw on people. I genuinely feel that the system worked in this case and she deserves a second chance. That is the whole point behind expungement after all.

Thanks in advance.
 
"She knows that it can be expunged, but does not know the particulars. "

Maybe not.
Talk to a local attorney.

In Virginia it is VERY difficult to get an actual conviction expunged.
It is usually reserved for cases without a conviction and removes the arrest and other records.

You might actually have better luck trying to get a pardon.
 
She did plead guilty, so is that an actual conviction since there was no trial? Sorry, but I have never been through this.
 
rhgunguy - This is a matter of utmost importance in the life of your friend. Please, consult a qualified attorney about it.

Even the best advice you get on the internet is worth exactly what you paid for it.
 
Might be able to answer some questions in a general fashion.

1)How to go about the expungement? Talk to a qualified defense attorney, one who pratices in front of the judge in question on a regular basis. Usually the local Public Defense Office will know the best ones.

1a)I know it requires going before a judge, does it have to be in the jurisdiction that the offense was commited in or will any criminal judge do?
Yes, it is the Judges own record, he will determine if it will be expunged, if the judge is no longer on the bench then one in the same judical district will have the power.

2)Does she have to complete her probation(this one I kind of figured was a "yes")? Yes, although a good letter from her Probation Officer will go a long way with the judge.


3)Will her fiance/husband be able to keep his guns at their home once it goes through(my safe is getting full)? Depends on the conditions of her Probation-she will have to ask her Probation Officer.


4)What are her chances?(keep in mind that from the day she was released she has been a model citizen, keeps good grades, abides by all conditions of her parole and is just looking to erase the one stupid mistake she made as a teen)? Totally unknownable, the lawyer who practices in that jurisdiction will be able to tell you better.


5)Does all record of the offense truly disapear? I have been made to understand that vets use drugs that are controled substances and she may have to pass a background check.
Most likely yes, she will have to go thru a background check, if she gets and expungement she should guard those doccuments well, being ready to produce them if the background check still shows the conviction.


As for a Pardon, which is ussaully granted by a Board appointed by the State Governor, they take a long time, and you defintely want to talk that over with a lawyer as well.

Remember this advice is worth what you are paying for. Consult a lawyer.
 
I have obtained expungements for others in my state. Without question, the best advice in this thread is,

rhgunguy - This is a matter of utmost importance in the life of your friend. Please, consult a qualified attorney about it.

Even the best advice you get on the internet is worth exactly what you paid for it.
Click to expand...

Emphasis added.
 
An issue is the relative youth lof this party and a "recent" conviction. Also as a vet, or a nurse-like status below a vet she would have access to drugs and that is a problem.
 
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