Alexandria Expungement Lawyer

As defined by Alexandria law, expungement is a legal process by which a person who is charged with a crime and found not guilty or whom the prosecutor elects not to prosecute could have all records of the arrest eliminated from existence. Expungement refers to suing the Commonwealth of Virginia in an effort to get a court to order the Commonwealth of Virginia to destroy all records of that charge. The only people eligible for expungement are people who have been charged with a crime and either found not guilty or the prosecutor elected not to prosecute their case and dismissed the charge against them. If you want to know more about the expungement process, speak with an Alexandria expungement lawyer that could achieve a positive outcome for you. A knowledgeable criminal defense attorney could answer any questions you may have, and advocate for you.

Process of Record Expungement

To have a record expunged in Alexandria means someone has been charged with a crime and they want to have the crime taken off their record so that no one knows that they were charged with it. This happens by filing a claim against the government in Circuit Court of the jurisdiction in which the person was charged with the crime. It is a lawsuit. An attorney would have to pay filing fees like every other civil claim that is filed in Circuit Court. The government would have a period of time in which they have to file an answer as to whether they agree or disagree with the expungement.

As this is going on, the petitioner, the person seeking the expungement, has a couple of different things to do. They need to get fingerprinted. Their fingerprints are sent to the Virginia State police to run a full record check against them to determine the person’s eligibility under the statute. Once everything is done, they get a day in court where the judge would hear all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the case and make a determination that the expungement is proper. An Alexandria expungement lawyer could ensure that an individual completes all of the steps necessary to petition their charge.

Relation Between Expungement and Being Pardoned

An expungement and being pardoned are different. An expungement is only available if a person is found not guilty or the government elects not to prosecute them. A pardon happens if a person has been convicted of a crime and they apply to the governor to have the charge or the conviction pardoned.

Circumstances in which an offense might be so minor that the record does not need to be expunged to be clean depend on the person and what they are trying to do with their life. If a person has a misdemeanor arrest on their record and they are not in need of security clearance or a background check for a job, they might not need to have that charge expunged.

Value of an Alexandria Expungement Attorney

Usually, people who want expungement are concerned about having the charge and how the charge impacts their ability to gain new employment, further their employment, or get some sort of security clearance. People with no money could try to do this on own. Because this is not a criminal charge, the court is not going to appoint an attorney to represent them through this. It is recommended to try to save to hire an attorney to handle it for them. While the process is not complicated, attorneys have done it a number of times and have it sorted down to a science. Hiring an Alexandria expungement lawyer to handle an expungement would make things a lot easier and make sure that it gets done right.