People call all the time asking whether or not they can get prior criminal offenses of their records. In Florida, it is pretty simple. For the most part, if you only have 1 prior arrest and the case was either dropped or the judge 'withheld adjudication' (meaning you were not convicted), then unless the crime is one of the few that are exempt, you are eligible to get this removed from your record. There are however certain crimes (ie sex crimes or domestic victim crimes) which can only be removed from your record if the case was completely dropped.
So often people call because there is something on their record from years ago that potential employers, schools, etc may see. In Florida, the process to wipe the slate clean takes about 6 months from beginning to end. You fill out a little application that is sent off to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee. From there, they review your eligibility and if they agree, they will send an approval back which ultimately gets signed off by the Judge.
The biggest misconception people have is that they think something is 'automatically' erased from the record after a period of time if it is was a juvenile crime. This is not true. Just like adult crimes, you need to apply to get it off your record, it does not just go away. The other big misconception is that people think even when getting it off the record, that a prosecutor may not see it in the event there is another arrest later on. This is not true. The prosecutor will always be able to see any arrest history you have. They have access to systems which allow them to see any and all criminal history someone has.
At our office, we charge $650 to do this. You will find that price is competetive and not excessive. There are some jurisdictions where hiring a lawyer is not necessary, and if you dont need one, we will explain to you what you need to do to do it yourself.
The legal terms for this procedure are 'sealing' and/or 'expunging' your record. You are eligible to have the record sealed you pled guilty or no contest but the Judge withheld adjudication. You are eligible to have it expunged it the case was dropped or never filed on by the state. There is really no difference between being sealed and expunged as far as what others can see. Sealed means the Judge orders the records to be sealed out of sight. Expunged means that the records are actually destroyed.
If you have any questions about this process, please call the Law Office of Shortein and Lee at 904-829-3035.
