Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

14 year old misdemeanor

In NYS is it not true that after a certain number of years a misdemeanor will cease to appear in your records if somebody does a background check for hiring purposes? My partner recently applied for a job and this 14 year old charge popped up - he had practically forgotten about it. He has had jobs since then where background checks were done and this never popped up, but here it is this time. It was our understanding that after some threshold of time, they are supposed to be removed from your record. is this true? If not, is expungement the only remaining route? And is expungement something that requires an attorney, and/or is always fairly expensive to accomplish?


Asked on 10/29/07, 2:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Kats James S. Kats, Esq.

Re: 14 year old misdemeanor

It is NOT true that the misdemeanor record "disappears" after a certain number of years. A misdemeanor record is indeed permanent. The only way to remove the record of conviction is expungement. To do so, you must go to the court clerk of the court where you were convicted and request the application papers.

You probably don't need an attorney to do this.

James Kats, Esq. www.lawjsk.com

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Answered on 10/30/07, 11:30 am


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