Frequently Asked Questions
1-What does it mean to have a conviction vacated?
The result of a court order vacating a conviction is that:
a- Your guilty plea is withdrawn and a not guilty plea entered or the guilty verdict is set aside.
c- The charging document is dismissed and judgment vacated.
d- It will not show up in your criminal history for sentencing on a later conviction.
e- For all purposes, you may state that you have NEVER been convicted of the offense.
2.-What does it mean to have a record expunged?
The result of a record expungment is the deletion of non-conviction data collected and held by law enforcement (police).
3- What is non-conviction data?
Non-conviction data consists of all criminal history record information relating to an incident which has not led to a conviction or other disposition adverse to the subject, and for which proceedings are no longer actively pending. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that proceedings are no longer actively pending if more than one year has elapsed since arrest, citation, charge, or service of warrant and no disposition has been entered.
4- What is the difference between vacating and expunging, and why do both?
A conviction that is vacated only effects court records. A record expungment addresses only law enforcement records.
A vacate without expungment leaves your information available to law enforcement. An expungment without a vacate will not be successful because it addresses only NON-conviction data. As long as you have not vacated the conviction in court, the data collected remains as conviction data and is not subject to expungment. However, once vacated, there is no conviction and that same data held by police automatically and instantly becomes non-conviction data and is then subject to expungment.
5- Does the court have to grant my Motion to Vacate Conviction? IE. Is this guarranteed to work?
NO. The statutes allowing vacation of convictions is subject to judicial discretion. Nevertheless, it has been my experience that, unless the type of conviction has been specifically targeted by legislation, most Motions to Vacate are granted. Likewise, the WSP has discretion in determining whether or not to satisfy your request to have non-conviction data expunged. In all cases, you should expect to be notified of the status.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not intended to be legal advice or to establish an attorney/client relationship. No contractual attorney/client relationship is, has been or will be established unless and until a fee agreement is signed by both parties AND payment has been cleared by the bank. Therefore, NO work will be done on your matter until agreement is signed and payment has cleared.
The result of a court order vacating a conviction is that:
a- Your guilty plea is withdrawn and a not guilty plea entered or the guilty verdict is set aside.
c- The charging document is dismissed and judgment vacated.
d- It will not show up in your criminal history for sentencing on a later conviction.
e- For all purposes, you may state that you have NEVER been convicted of the offense.
2.-What does it mean to have a record expunged?
The result of a record expungment is the deletion of non-conviction data collected and held by law enforcement (police).
3- What is non-conviction data?
Non-conviction data consists of all criminal history record information relating to an incident which has not led to a conviction or other disposition adverse to the subject, and for which proceedings are no longer actively pending. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that proceedings are no longer actively pending if more than one year has elapsed since arrest, citation, charge, or service of warrant and no disposition has been entered.
4- What is the difference between vacating and expunging, and why do both?
A conviction that is vacated only effects court records. A record expungment addresses only law enforcement records.
A vacate without expungment leaves your information available to law enforcement. An expungment without a vacate will not be successful because it addresses only NON-conviction data. As long as you have not vacated the conviction in court, the data collected remains as conviction data and is not subject to expungment. However, once vacated, there is no conviction and that same data held by police automatically and instantly becomes non-conviction data and is then subject to expungment.
5- Does the court have to grant my Motion to Vacate Conviction? IE. Is this guarranteed to work?
NO. The statutes allowing vacation of convictions is subject to judicial discretion. Nevertheless, it has been my experience that, unless the type of conviction has been specifically targeted by legislation, most Motions to Vacate are granted. Likewise, the WSP has discretion in determining whether or not to satisfy your request to have non-conviction data expunged. In all cases, you should expect to be notified of the status.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not intended to be legal advice or to establish an attorney/client relationship. No contractual attorney/client relationship is, has been or will be established unless and until a fee agreement is signed by both parties AND payment has been cleared by the bank. Therefore, NO work will be done on your matter until agreement is signed and payment has cleared.