In the United States, about 45 million Americans, or 14% of the population, have been convicted of a misdemeanor. If this is the case for you, you might be asking yourself, can a misdemeanor be expunged in New York City or State?
The answer is both yes and no. Having a crime expunged means that all records of your arrest, prosecution, and conviction are permanently destroyed. Unfortunately, New York has no statutes allowing for expungement of any crimes, except for certain marijuana-related convictions.
But don’t worry! In the state of New York, you can still apply to have any criminal convictions sealed. Sealing a criminal conviction involves the destruction of most records related to the case. Sealed records of the conviction itself will no longer be viewable by anyone, not the public, and not law enforcement, except under certain circumstances, which we will discuss below.
Beyond direct punishment for a crime, such as fines, jail time, or community service, having a criminal record often results in what is known as collateral consequences, which can affect your life in many adverse ways. Collateral consequences can include loss of voting rights or the ability to serve on a jury. You may lose immigration status, housing or public benefits, or loans for college or a small business.
Even having a misdemeanor conviction on your record can result in collateral consequences, such as being denied a job. In general, you can apply to have less serious felonies and misdemeanors sealed, but there are exceptions for more serious crimes, such as
Since a new wide-ranging criminal conviction sealing law was enacted in 2017, you may now apply for the sealing of many adult convictions, provided certain conditions are met.
The basic requirements for a conviction to be eligible for sealing are that you have:
There are also situations in which automatic full or partial sealing of a conviction takes place without you needing to take any action, including:
New York criminal courts are granted discretion to seal up to two convictions, only one of which may be a felony. However, if you were convicted of multiple crimes for a single criminal action, the court may consider them a single conviction. Also, the sealing process is not automatic. You must follow certain steps in order to get a conviction sealed:
If there are no objections from the District Attorney, no hearing is required to approve your application, but the judge may choose to conduct a hearing regardless. The judge will dismiss your petition if you have not met all the requirements. Some of the factors the court may consider when reviewing your request include
If you are denied or restricted from having a conviction sealed, it is still possible to get your rights back by applying for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities or a Certificate of Good Conduct.
After having a conviction record sealed, all material connected to your case will be permanently destroyed, including evidence such as arrest photos, mugshots, fingerprints, palm cards, and DNA samples. The record of your conviction will still exist but cannot be accessed or viewed by members of the public, law enforcement officers, or prosecutors, except under certain special circumstances listed in the next section.
After being sealed, there are only a few ways that your record may be viewed, which include:
Sealing your criminal history is a great way to prevent past indiscretions from interfering with your future success. If you would like assistance, or you feel confused or intimidated by the process of applying for sealing, our experienced criminal defense attorneys at Tully Rinckey are ready to assist you.
Schedule a legal consultation today or get in touch to find out how we can help!