Expungements in New Jersey
Criminal records are public knowledge. If you are worried that your old criminal record interferes with your ability to get a job or secure credit, then you should discuss your eligibility for an expungement with an experienced criminal attorney at the Law Office of Sara McArdle.
An expungement is the removal and isolation of all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement, criminal justice agency or juvenile justice agency concerning a person’s apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition of an offense within the criminal or juvenile justice system.
Unless otherwise provided by law, if an order for expungement is granted, the adult arrest, the record of law enforcement taking you into custody as a juvenile, conviction, adjudication of delinquency, disposition and any related proceedings are considered not to have occurred.
Please call our office to schedule a free consultation to review your eligibility status with an experienced attorney. First, an eligible person must prepare a Petition for Expungement. Then, the Petitioner must file for Expungement in the Superior Court in the county where the arrest or prosecution took place. Accordingly, the judge then decides whether the person should be granted an Expungement Order. Our experienced team at the Law Office of Sara McArdle helps you through the entire process.
I
nformation needed for an Expungement:
- Your date of birth and social security number
- Date of arrest
- Statutes/offenses for which you were arrested or convicted
- Original Indictment, Summons, or Warrant number
- Date of conviction or disposition
- Court’s disposition of the matter and any penalties, fees, fines, punishment imposed
How long before you can petition for an Expungement?
- Indictable Offense – 5 years from the date of conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation, or release from jail, whichever is later.
- Disorderly Persons Offense – 3 years from the date of conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation, or release from jail, whichever is later.
- Drug Court graduates – after successfully completing the program
- Pretrial Intervention – 6 months after charges are successfully dismissed after completion of probationary period
- Municipal Ordinance – two years from the date of conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation, or release from jail, whichever is later.
- Dismissal – immediately, ask the Municipal Court for the required form
Crimes that cannot be expunged:
- Criminal homicide (except death by auto specified in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5)
- Kidnapping
- Human trafficking
- Luring or enticing
- Sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault
- Aggravated criminal sexual contact
- Criminal sexual contract (if the victim is a minor)
- Criminal restraint or false imprisonment (if the victim is a minor and the offender is not the parent of the victim)
- Robbery
- Arson and related offenses
- Terrorism
- Producing or possessing chemical weapons, biological agents, or nuclear or radiological devices
- Endangering the welfare of a child by engaging in sexual conduct that would impair or debauch the morals of the child or cause the child other harm
- Photographing or filming a child in a prohibited sexual act
- Causing or permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sexual act
- Distributing, possessing with the intent to distribute, or using a file-sharing program to store items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child
- Possessing or viewing items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child
- Knowingly promoting the prostitution of the actor’s child
- Perjury
- False swearing
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