Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: felony first offense

Until you die, unless it's expunged.

www.AggressiveCriminalDefense.com

Re: felony first offense

Search the LawGuru.com Q&A Database for past questions and answers about setting aside a conviction (a.k.a., expungment). I have answered dozens of these questions in the past. For example, see http://www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/message.php?i=200256066&view=a#1

Further, free on-line information is available from the Michigan Courts web site at http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/selfhelp/intro/criminal/setaside_help.htm

Expungment does not happen automatically. You have to file paperwork in the court of conviction to have a hearing to ask that the court set aside the conviction. It's a discretionary call by the judge.

You can have "one and only" criminal conviction (felony or misdemeanor). So, if you have "a first felony" but also have "a second felony" or also have one or more misdmeanor priors, you cannot set aside ANY conviction.

You also have to wait more than 5 years after your conviction date, when you got out of jail or prison, or when you got off probation/parole ... whichever occurred last. So, basically, 5+ years after you were free from court involvement/oversight before you can file for an expungment.

If you think you qualify, it's a good idea to hire an attorney to help make sure you have the papers in order, that you probably do qualify, that all procedural steps are followed, and that good arguments are made to the court to convince the judge that you should reclaim a clean criminal history.

Good luck!

Re: felony first offense

Your first felony? ....You planning on more?

If there is only one crime on your record, (misdemeanor or felony), it can be expunged 5 years from the date your probation ended.