Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Probation of one year is a punishment associated with a B misdemeanor level offense. That is different than a violation and conditional discharge where you are instructed to stay out of trouble for a year. If you have been convicted of a crime, New York State has no expungement statute, meaning your criminal record is permanent, at least until such a time that New York State changes the law with respect to expungements. If you were convicted of a violation, you need to speak to your defense attorney as to whether the record was to be sealed after one year. Arrest records are never sealed in New York despite what defendants are told. the contents of the record may be sealed in certain situations but that is a different matter entirely.