Vincent C. Scoca Annette Scoca Attorneys at Law

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An expungement is a legal way to "clear your record".  Expungement is the isolation of a criminal record so it becomes not publicly available.

Under New Jersey law (N.J.S. 2C:52-1), all records on file in the criminal justice system that relate to a criminal prosecution may be extracted and isolated. A clean criminal record is an important asset. If you have ever been arrested and/or convicted in New Jersey, you may qualify to petition the Court for expungement of your entire criminal record and related information. You are legally permitted to answer that you have not been arrested and/or convicted of a crime once you have had an expungement completed. Following are just a few of the situations where a criminal record can adversely affect your life. Voting, Jury duty, Child custody rights, Holding public office, Credibility as a witness in court, Firearms - Acquisition and Possession, Bank Loans, Employment, College Applications, Professional Licenses,  Social stigma, Military Service Expungements result in the "isolation" of records of convictions. They also isolate records of arrest, regardless of whether those arrests resulted in convictions. Expungement of criminal records enables a person to confidently answer questions that otherwise would have been embarrassing.

An expungement of your criminal conviction will help you avoid the legal, economic, and social problems of a criminal record in two ways:

1) You may legally say that you have never been arrested or convicted of a crime.
2) If anyone does a background check on you, courts and law enforcement agencies will indicate, "no criminal record exists".

The records do not  disappear but they go away. The records cannot be accessed for general law enforcement or civil use. There are certain situations under which the expunged records can be searched, retrieved, and used, but this is rare and normally requires a court order or statutory authorization.  

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney to handle their expungement, call Vincent C. Scoca today at 973-680-1048.  We are available 24/7 -  nights, weekends and holidays. We accept credit cards.  To schedule a free consultation, call or fill out the contact form located on our website.
 

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