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Disorderly Persons Expungement Attorney in Middlesex County

Expungement of a Disorderly Persons Offense in Middlesex County NJ

Edison Disorderly Persons Expungement Lawyers

The term expungement is not something that is used in everyday life. When someone speaks of an expungement in New Jersey, they are referring to the removal of personal identifying information from the criminal system. This would include your fingerprints, DNA, records of arrest, police reports, court generated documents, and judgements of convictions. Indictable offenses, disorderly persons offenses, conditional discharges, pre-trial interventions, and dismissals all show up on your criminal record and can be expunged if you meet certain eligibility requirements. People often seek expungements to further their lives, as successfully expunging your criminal record can help you to obtain better employment, housing, and other opportunities requiring a background check. If you are interested in expunging a disorderly persons offense case from your record in Middlesex County or elsewhere in New Jersey, the experienced expungement attorneys at William Proetta Criminal Law are here to assist you. With thousands of successful expungement petitions behind us, we are thoroughly prepared to craft and complete the expungement process on your behalf to remove an arrest, disorderly persons offense,  conditional discharge, conditional dismissal, or conviction. For more information and to discuss your eligibility for an expungement in New Jersey, call (732) 659-9600 or contact us online today. A local lawyer for expungements in Middlesex County is available 24/7 to provide you with a free consultation.

Expungement of a Disorderly Persons Offense in New Jersey

An expungement is the removal of your criminal history from all state and local databases and records. For example, if you were arrested for a disorderly persons offense like possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, a disorderly persons offense, you were likely arrested, at which point police took a photograph, your fingerprints, filed criminal complaints, and wrote corresponding reports. If you were convicted, the conviction for one or more disorderly persons offenses will also appear on your criminal record. To expunge your criminal record, this requires the Superior Court to issue an order directing that every department remove your information from their respective systems. In essence, the police department, municipal court, and other informed agencies would be ordered to remove the fingerprints, arrest record, complaint, and reports. Similarly, the Superior Court would have to remove the conviction and court history from their records. Likewise, the state police would have to remove your identity, records, DNA, and fingerprints from their records. The State Police, together with the local municipal court, would be ordered to remove all records as well.

The point of an expungement is to make it appear that you were never in legal trouble at all, to wipe your slate clean, to give you the fresh start that you deserve. The removal of the information often helps people obtain better housing, obtain better jobs, attend better colleges, obtain loans, and live an overall better life. Unfortunately, not everyone is entitled to an expungement and not all records can be expunged in New Jersey.

Am I Eligible to Expunge a Disorderly Persons Offense in NJ?

Expunging a Disorderly Persons Offense Alone

Disorderly persons offenses can be expunged with or without an indictable offense on your record. If you have a disorderly persons offense conviction on your record, you would have to wait 5 years for an expungement from the date of conviction or completion of your sentence. However, if you have more than four convictions for disorderly persons offenses on your record, you will typically not be entitled to an expungement in New Jersey. Common disorderly persons or petty disorderly offenses sought to be expunged are:

While disorderly persons offenses require a lesser time frame for expungement than felonies, they require more time than straight out dismissals, conditional discharges, Drug Court, or Pretrial Intervention expungements. For instance, if your case has been dismissed due to a finding of not guilty or straight out dismissal from the prosecutor, you are entitled to immediate expungement as there is no waiting period for filing. If however, your case was dismissed because you completed the conditional discharge program or Pretrial Intervention (PTI), you would be entitled to an expungement within 6 months from completion.

Lastly, anyone who has been sentenced to Drug Court, successfully completes the program and graduates, is entitled to an immediate expungement of their entire record. This means that there is no waiting period. More importantly, graduating from Drug Court allows your entire record to be expunged (save for some notable exceptions) regardless of the number of crimes or disorderly persons offenses you have committed in the past.

Expungement of a Disorderly Persons Offense and a Felony

The expungement Statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2, also allows any person to have their indictable/felony conviction to be expunged if they have only one conviction and the specific crime is eligible for expungement. Specifically, the law prohibits an expungement for any person who has had a “prior or subsequent” felony conviction “within this State or any other jurisdiction.” If you have more than one indictable felony conviction on your record on varying dates, you may not be granted an expungement in New Jersey. Additionally, the court grants expungements only to those with one indictable crime conviction and no more than three disorderly persons offenses or petty disorderly persons offenses on their record. Under the normal course, a person must wait 6 years from the completion of their last sentence and fines before applying for an expungement if convicted of a felony offense in addition to a disorderly persons offense.

Consult Disorderly Persons Offense Expungement Attorneys in New Brunswick Today

While we presented a simple recitation of the expungement rules about disorderly persons offenses in New Jersey, the law on expungements can be complicated. Additionally, filing for the expungements, the notifications that must go out to all agencies, and mailings of the expungement orders can be difficult and time-consuming. With this in mind, it is very beneficial to have a knowledgeable lawyer handle your expungement to ensure that everything is done correctly and you are positioned to be approved. Whether you want to expunge a disorderly persons offense in Edison, New Brunswick, Woodbridge, South Brunswick, Piscataway, Carteret, East Brunswick, or another town in Middlesex County, our attorneys have the depth of experience and information about expungements to make sure yours is done right. Contact our local office at (732) 659-9600 to speak with a lawyer free of charge. We can advise on whether you are entitled to an expungement and, if so, we can handle everything for you. Let our attorneys take the burden from you in the expungement process. Contact us today.