Receiving an expunction for an arrest or minor conviction is a life changing event, allowing you to live as if the incident never happened. You may be wondering if an expunction essentially deems you innocent of a crime. While the basic intent is similar, an expunction serves a different purpose.
Expunctions do not deem an individual innocent of a charge or conviction—especially if you’ve already been convicted. Rather than declaring you innocent of wrongdoings, expunctions are meant to alleviate the negative consequences that an arrest and/or conviction has on a person. If you’ve completed all the terms of your sentence and have stayed out of trouble, it is in everyone’s interest for the record to not hold you back in your future endeavors. Think of it as the criminal justice system forgiving you and wiping your slate clean so that you can move forward.
In many states, there is such a thing as a Certificate of Actual Innocence, which is the most concrete form of an expunction. This type of document declares your innocence on a matter and essentially states that your record never should have existed. Often you can seek a Certificate of Actual Innocence if the charges have been dropped or you’ve been to trial and found not guilty.
This doesn’t mean that if you receive an expunction, you’re forever guilty of the crime. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—in most jurisdictions an expunction seals arrest and conviction records so you don’t have to disclose the information to someone like a landlord or an employer. You can even legally say “no” when asked if you’ve ever been convicted of a criminal offense.
Your criminal record will undoubtedly create difficulties as you try to advance in life. The silver lining is that most states allow for people to expunge certain arrests and records. If eligible, an expunction can benefit you in many facets of life. Get in touch with Easy Expunctions to see if we can help clear an arrest, charge, or conviction from your record.
