Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Re: Expunding a Felony

Records in Massachusetts cannot be "expunged" but can be "sealed" at the discretion of the judge on a case-by-case basis. There is an important distinction between expunging a record and sealing a record. When a record is "expunged" the crime is effectively erased from the record and it is as if it never happened. When a record is "sealed",it is merely kept from viewing by members of the public. When an employer does a record check on a person w/ a sealed record, the employer will be told there is a record but that it is sealed, meaning the employer will not be permitted to view the record. This is what would happen if you were successful in getting your record sealed.

The process for sealing a record in Mass. would be having an attorney file a motion in the court where you were convicted and serving copies of the motion on the DA's Office and Probation Department. The judge would hear the motion, and the DA would have an opportunity to object if the DA believed that sealing the record would pose a danger to the public, or not be in the interest of the public. The statute provides that Notice of the Motion and Hearing be published so that members of the public can be given an opportunity to be heard if they wish. There is a waiting period to persons an opportunity to be heard.