How an Expungement Lawyer Can Help Your Georgia Criminal Record

In Georgia, a crime happens every two minutes and 54 seconds.

When the police find out about crimes, they seek after the alleged criminals and arrest them.

If you committed a crime in the past, you know what this is like. But, what if that was years ago, and you’ve had a clean record since then?

Would you want to find out if you can get your criminal record restricted? If so, you can hire an expungement lawyer for assistance.

Here are some vital things you might want to know about criminal record expungement in Georgia.

The Effects Of Having A Criminal Record

A criminal record is something you carry around for the rest of your life. As in, once it’s there, it’s there. However, through an expungement attorney’s help, you might be able to hide the criminal charges from your past.

Why would a person want to hide their criminal charges? Well, there are several reasons people use this process to hide their criminal records:

Effects On Getting A Job

Many employers run background checks when hiring employees, especially in certain industries. For example, if you want to work in the financial sector, you can expect this to occur.

When employers discover that a person has a criminal past, they might hire someone else for the job.

Challenges With Rental Properties

Additionally, landlords run background checks when processing apartment applications. When they see that a person has a record, they might choose a different tenant for that apartment.

Relationship Issues

You might also have trouble dating or with relationships. Anyone can run a background check to look into a person’s past, and criminal charges can come back to haunt a person in these situations.

These are just a few ways a criminal record harms a person. However, having a criminal record might also infringe on your right to own a gun, travel, or vote.

If the court restricts your record, you won’t have to face these challenges any longer.

You’ll also be able to state that you don’t have a criminal record on applications you complete, as this process hides the records from public view.

The Basics Of Expungement

In Georgia, the law no longer refers to removing or hiding criminal records as expungement. Instead, they call this record restriction. Therefore, when you decide to pursue expungement, you’re pursuing record restriction.

The restriction of your Georgia criminal record is the process of getting your criminal charges hidden.

Expungement doesn’t erase the charges or make you innocent of them. It simply hides them, so people don’t see them when they perform background checks on the person.

You must follow a process to get a criminal record expunged, and you’ll need an experienced criminal law attorney to help you with your case. The process requires steps and paying fees. It might also take some time.

As you consider this option, you should learn more about the rules relating to expungement in Georgia to determine if you should proceed with a petition to the court.

The Rules For Expunging Criminal Charges In Georgia

The next thing to understand is the rules for expunging criminal charges. Record restriction rules are clear about several things:

Not All Charges Qualify

When courts view record restriction petitions, they always look at the charges on the person’s records. As they review the charges, they’ll know whether to continue evaluating the petition or not.

Courts will not approve record restriction requests for some charges. The charges that don’t qualify include serious criminal charges, such as sexual assault, battery, and child molestation. There are others, too.

If your charges are too serious, the court will not restrict your record.

There’s A Waiting Period

Next, the court looks at the dates of the charges. When did they happen? Did the person wait long enough before pursuing expungement?

The court has rules with waiting periods. These periods might differ depending on the charges, and an attorney can help you understand how this works.

You Must Be In Good Standing

One other thing to know is that the court looks at your current standing. If you’re involved in criminal charges right now, they likely won’t approve your record restriction.

You must be in good standing, in a criminal law sense, when you apply for the court to restrict your record.

How To Proceed With Your Case

Are you ready to petition the court to restrict your Georgia arrest record and convictions? If you’re ready to fight for this, you must follow a few steps. Here are the main ones:

Contact And Hire A Lawyer

You can look for a lawyer with expungement experience as you begin working on this process. When you find one, you can explain your situation. The lawyer will analyze your information to determine if you should proceed.

If your criminal record appears to meet the criteria for expungement, the lawyer can assist you with preparing the correct documents to initiate the case.

Pay The Fees

You must pay some fees to begin the process. Your lawyer will charge a fee for the services, and courts require fees for handling the process.

Petition The Court

Next, your attorney will prepare the petition for the court. The petition initiates the case with the court, which is vital when requesting a record restriction. The court receives the petition and evaluates the circumstances.

Wait For The Answer

After petitioning the court, you might have to wait a few weeks before you find out the answer. If the court approves the expungement, they will notify you, and they will follow through by hiding your criminal record.

If the court approves it, you’ll have good reason to celebrate.

Hire An Expungement Lawyer For The Best Results

You have the right to handle legal matters yourself, but you’ll have a better chance of getting the expungement approved if you hire an expungement lawyer.

Are you ready to place your confidence in us for this matter? We handle criminal law cases, expungement, and other legal matters and would love to hear from you. Contact us today to learn more about this topic.

Jarrett Maillet J.D., P.C.

210 E 31st St

Savannah, GA 31401

(912) 713-3426

https://www.mailletcriminallaw.com/