Arizona Criminal Record Clearing Expungement Attorney
Having a criminal record in Arizona can have real consequences on your career and your life. Getting your record clearing with the help of an experienced Arizona criminal record clearing expungement attorney is vital. Did you know that under Arizona law, an arrest remains on your record for 99 years? It can affect your ability to get the job you want, to obtain or keep a professional or occupational license, to rent an apartment, to possess a firearm, and to even vote. It also has immigration consequences. Today, many employment applications ask the applicant not only whether you’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony, but also whether you’ve ever been arrested for a crime, regardless of whether you were convicted.
Fortunately, in Arizona, there are legal options available to a person with a criminal record. It is important however to consult with an experienced attorney to discuss what options are available to you because these options depend on your particular circumstances, such as the number of prior convictions, whether those prior convictions were felonies or misdemeanors, the seriousness of the conviction, the nature of the victim, your age at the time of the conviction, and whether a dangerous weapon was alleged to have been used in the underlying offense.
Depending on the circumstances, a person with a criminal record in Arizona may be able to:
- Set aside the conviction
- Reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor
- Seal an adult arrest record
- Seal and destroy a juvenile record
- Petition for early successful termination of probation
- Restore civil rights (e.g., the right to vote)
- Restore the right to possess a firearm
The most recent statute that covers record sealing Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-911, now allows for record sealing in most cases. By utilizing the record sealing process in Arizona, people will be able to clean up their record and make their past indiscretions invisible to most background checks.
Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Cards & Good Cause Exceptions to Denials of Fingerprint Cards
If you are arrested or convicted of certain offense in Arizona, your Arizona fingerprint clearance card may be revoked, or you may be denied a clearance card if you are applying for the first time. In some instances, you may be eligible for a good cause exception to the denial of a fingerprint clearance card. Clearing your Arizona criminal record is an important step in reinstating or being eligible for an Arizona fingerprint clearance card. Call us to discuss what options are available to you.
Importance of Retaining Experienced Arizona Criminal Record Clearing Expungement Attorney
Elias Damianakos has handled hundreds of Arizona criminal record clearing matters. During the initial process, we gather information about your personal history – for example, family, work, school – and then present the information to the original sentencing judge in an effective manner so as to achieve the best outcome.
There is no reason not to have your criminal record expunged, set aside, sealed, or reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, if the option is available to you. As an experienced Arizona criminal record clearing and criminal record expungement attorney, I will assess your specific case for you to determine what options you have to reduce the impact that a criminal record may have on your life.
Federal Pardons
Under the Constitution, the President has the power to pardon a person convicted of a federal criminal offense. If you have been convicted a federal offense and you wish to “clear” your criminal record, the State remedies discussed above are not available to you. Instead, you must go through the federal pardon process. Some of the main characteristics of a federal pardon are: 1) there is an initial 5 year waiting period before you can apply, 2) it applies to federal convictions only, 3) a pardon does “expunge” or “seal” your federal criminal record, and 4) the process can take a long time. We have experience preparing petitions for federal pardons. I am an experienced Arizona criminal record clearing expungement attorney. If you are seeking a federal pardon for a federal criminal conviction, call our office to discuss the process.