Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Registered Sex Offender

There is probably no legal basis to have "the judgment reversed" (i.e., to set aside your guilty plea or challenge a trial verdict) because of the time that's passed by. But, your conviction might be eligible for expungment. Michigan technically calls this "setting aside a conviction".

We have answered dozens of questions about this at lawguru.com, and you can search the Q&A Database for them.

Can you do this yourself? Yes. But it's best to hire an attorney who handles expungments to make sure that all the paperwork and procedures are in order ... and that you are actually eligible.

Some CSCs may not be eligible for expungment at all ... and the fact that you are a registered sex offender may also factor into the judge's decision to not set the conviction aside yet.

The biggest barrier is if, in addition to the CSC, you have EVER been convicted of another misdmeanor or felony. Expungment is limited to a person's "one & only" criminal conviction. If there's been another one at some time -- even a traffic misdemeanor -- the judge is not allowed to set aside any of the convictions.

In short, you can read up about the process at the Michigan Courts' "self help" web site:

http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/selfhelp/intro/criminal/setaside_help.htm

This site has links to some of the court forms, and explains the procedures.

Essentially, you have to wait 5 years after your court matter is concluded (off probation, out of jail, etc.) ... which you have done. As I mentioned before, this must be your one and only criminal conviction.

The rest is procedural: you have to fill out the court form to set aside the conviction (go to your court clerk to get a copy). You file it with the court AND the county prosecuting attorney AND the Attorney General AND the Michigan State Police (along with sets of your finger and hand prints). The AG and MSP will double check whether this was your 1-and-only conviction.

Then there's a court hearing where the judge decides whether to use his/her discretionary power to set your conviction aside.

Good luck!

Re: Registered Sex Offender

You should begin by hiring an experienced attorney.