Can You Expunge Your Adult Criminal Record?

In most cases, an adult criminal record stays in tact for the rest of your life. Regardless of the reasons behind your poor choices, a conviction can come back to haunt you, and no one wants to admit that they have a criminal record. The only way to "erase" those past offenses is through an expungement, but can an adult expunge his or her criminal record?

The word 'adult' is extremely important to this article, as adult criminal records are handled differently than those of juveniles. When you're convicted of a crime as a minor, you have a better chance for expungement because the courts want to give you a second chance. Of course, there are situations where even a juvenile can't erase his past wrongdoings, and it is many times harder for an adult to get it done.

In some states, an adult can only expunge his or her criminal record if he or she is pardoned by the governor. In others, there are a list of circumstances that determine candidacy for expungement, and in still others, it depends on the exact circumstances of the crime and whether or not the judge is in a good mood. In most cases, federal convictions cannot be expunged under any circumstances.

If you want to expunge your adult criminal record, you'll need both valid reasons and a good defense attorney. These assets will help you convince the court that you deserve an expungement, which can take some doing on the part of your lawyer. The point of convicting and punishing a criminal, after all, is to show that there are consequences for our actions.

Before you try to expunge your adult criminal record, you'll need to fulfill the terms of your sentence. For example, if you were ordered five years of probation, you generally couldn't request an expungement until those five years have passed. During that time, you can't have committed any other crimes, and you can't be under indictment for further offenses. Some states require only that a year has passed; it depends on where you live.