Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

Re: exspugentment

There are two ways to sort of clear your record of prior crimes. An expungement erases that charge from your record, as if it never existed.

Sealing the record, closes the record to most of the public but keeps the charge visible to police, government employees, etc.

You may be eligible for either one depending on the exact charge, disposition (what happened in court), and time.

Our firm, Shestokas & Raines, as well as many other criminal defense firms, handles expungements. For a more detailed explanation of expungements, feel free to visit our website at: http://www.shestokas.com/Expungements.html

Re: exspugentment

Contact your local State's Attorney's Office and ask them for the application(s) for expungement and/or for a record to be sealed. It will depend upon how long ago the offense occurred, how it was characterized (ordinance violation, misdemeanor, felony), and if you have any other violations/charges/convictions prior to or since that time. If you are okay on all of these fronts, file the application with the court for expungement and/or to have the record sealed. It may take some time, but depending upon the exact facts of your case, you may be able to get the conviction sealed/expunged from your record. As a side note: you will also have to serve a copy of your application materials on the arresting agency (the police department). They have the right to object to the application, but often times, if it is something relatively minor - and it has been awhile - and you have no other convictions - they won't. First off, just contact your SAO and/or the clerk's office and request the paperwork you will need. It should have information on there about whether you will be eligible (certain offenses - even if minor - are non-eligible offenses; others there is a minimum amount of time that must elapse). Either way, you may still be required to disclose that information as a part of your licensing requirements (even if expunged).

Re: exspugentment

You must file an expungement. First, there must be a determination that you're eligible to file. Please call for further discussion. I have filed hundreds of these over the 30 years I've been a lawyer.