UTAH CRIMINAL DEFENSE
McADAMS LAW PLLC
utah expungement attorney
Expungement is the legal process for striking out and deleting a person’s criminal history and record. In the State of Utah, expungements are governed by Utah Code § 77-40-101, also known as the Utah Expungement Act. Obtaining an expungement allows you to apply for jobs and housing contracts and say that you have never been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime.
Furthermore, obtaining an expungement means that your criminal history records will be officially sealed to the public. This generally means that government agencies and officials must verify that you do not have a criminal history. There are only a few exceptions, such as if you are applying to become a police officer, or other specific government jobs and licenses, etc. For most jobs, you will be able to report that you have no criminal history.
As you can see, obtaining an expungement is a tremendous benefit and can be a big step toward cleaning up the past and getting your life back on track. Not every crime is eligible for expungement. Likewise, not all people are eligible for an expungement. The Utah Expungement Act lays out a set of detailed guidelines to designate if you are eligible and how long you might have to wait before obtaining an expungement. Eligibility depends upon a number of factors such as how serious the crime is that you were arrested for, whether you were convicted of the crime, how long since you have been on probation, and whether you have any other subsequent criminal convictions, among others.
There are many steps that you must follow to apply for, obtain, and enforce an expungement. The Utah Courts website has information that can help guide you through all of the steps and paper work that must be completed. You can also hire an attorney to help you navigate and manage all of the various steps and procedures that you must consider and follow in order to obtain an expungement.
If your case meets the criteria laid out in the Utah Expungement Act, you deserve a fresh start and should get your record expunged.
Criminal Defense Attorney Andrew McAdams has extensive experience working with expungements. As a former prosecutor, he reviewed dozens of petitions for expungement from persons seeking to clear their criminal history and assisted many people who had earned a second chance. As a private attorney, Andrew continues to work helping clients to successfully obtain expungements.