Having a criminal conviction on your record can mean that you are losing out on various opportunities in life. Whether that means you are denied acceptance into a school, a job opportunity, a financial aide package, a New Jersey firearms identification card, or are prohibited from coaching your children in sports, you should know that New Jersey allows you the opportunity to have your criminal record erased through the expungement process.
Having an arrest record can stand in the way of your dreams and can negatively impact your life. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony (or “indictable”) offense, your criminal history record is available to anyone to see. Moreover, although most people do not realize it, dismissed or dropped charges will, in fact, be revealed during a background check – unless you have the arrest record expunged. Anyone who sees this information, even if the charges were dropped, will likely view your innocence with skepticism.
The solution is to expunge your record. The New Jersey expungement statutes govern issues regarding eligibility for expungement. Determining if and when you are eligible, however, is not always an easy task. Moreover, the expungement process itself is technically demanding. If the requirements are not followed each step of the way, whether due to incomplete information being provided in the petition and/or due to improper service of the petition or other errors, the court could deny your expungement.