Is It Better to Expunge or Seal Your Record?

A criminal record can haunt you for the rest of your life, making it more difficult to pursue an education, find a career, or buy a house. Even if you were convicted of a relatively minor offense, you could still bear the lasting burden of a criminal record as a result.

If you have a criminal record in Nevada, however, you may be able to file a legal petition to have your record concealed. While this doesn’t erase your record, it will prevent most people from accessing it. For the most part you can move on with your life as though the incident never occurred.

Continue reading to learn more about how records are sealed or expunged and whether you might be eligible to file a petition to seal your Nevada criminal record.

What Is the Difference Between Sealing and Expunging a Record?

When a criminal record is expunged, it is completely erased and removed from state or federal records. Courts that receive expungement orders are expected to treat criminal convictions as if they never occurred at all. If you are granted an expungement, a criminal conviction is removed from both your personal criminal record as well as the public record.

When a criminal record is sealed, on the other hand, no one can view the contents of the record without a court order. This means the record still physically and legally exists, but it is more difficult to access. If your record is sealed, most schools, landlords, and employers won’t be able to see it. You can legally deny that a conviction ever occurred.

What Records Can You Expunge?

The state of Nevada does not currently allow records of any kind to be expunged. However, it’s still possible to have a criminal record sealed, which offers many of the same benefits as having a record expunged.

What Records Can You Seal?

If you are convicted of a sex crime, a crime against children, invasion of a home with a deadly weapon, or a felony DUI, you are not eligible to have the record of that offense sealed.

However, criminal records can be sealed for most other types of convictions after certain waiting periods, such as:

• Dismissed charges – You may file a record seal petition immediately after charges have been dismissed.
• Misdemeanor charges – You may file a record seal petition for most misdemeanors after one year.
• Gross misdemeanors, category E felonies, and misdemeanor battery, harassment, or stalking – You may file a petition after two years.
• Most category D felonies, category C felonies, and category B felonies – You may file a petition after five years.
• Misdemeanor DUIs and battery domestic violence charges – You may file a petition after seven years.
• Category A felonies, burglaries, and felony violent crimes – You may file a petition after 10 years.

Talk to a Criminal Defense Lawyer at Adras & Altig

If you are interested in sealing your criminal record in Nevada, Adras & Altig can help. Our team concentrates on Las Vegas criminal defense law. We are prepared to work relentlessly to protect your rights.

Contact us today to discuss the details of your case in a free, confidential consultation.

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How to Seal a Criminal Record in Nevada

Having a criminal record can negatively impact your life in many ways. A conviction on your record, especially for a felony crime, makes it harder to get a job, buy a house or a car, apply for a loan, and even live in certain areas. A felony conviction also bars you from being able to vote, serve on a jury, and hold political office.

While Nevada does not allow criminal records to be expunged, you can have your records sealed under certain circumstances.

At Adras & Altig, we understand how difficult life can be with a criminal conviction on your record. Our dedicated and experienced Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys stand ready to walk you through the process and help you follow the necessary steps to get your records sealed.

Call or reach out online now to talk to us for free.

Steps to Have Your Nevada Criminals Records Sealed

Here are the steps you’ll need to take to get your records sealed if you were charged with a crime in the Las Vegas area:

• Get a verified copy of your criminal history.

The first thing you need to do to seal your records is to get a full, verified copy of your criminal record. This is sometimes known as a SCOPE. In Las Vegas, you can get a SCOPE from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (learn more here). If you were convicted of a charge, you’ll also need to obtain a judgment of conviction and discharge from the Clark County District Court Clerk.

• Type out a stipulation, petition, affidavit, and order.

Once you have a verified copy of your criminal history, you’ll need to determine which court to file your petition with. If all the charges on your SCOPE report are from one court, you file the petition with that court. If the charges on your SCOPE report were handled in multiple courts, then you file your petition with the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County.

After determining which court has jurisdiction over your petition, you’ll need to download and fill out the necessary petition forms, which you can find here. These forms should be typed, not handwritten. Once you’ve filled in all the necessary information, make three copies of each document.

• Mail or drop your package off at the Las Vegas District Attorney Office.

All of your forms need to go to the Las Vegas District Attorney’s Office at 200 Lewis Avenue, Room 3305, P.O. Box 552212, Las Vegas, NV 89155-2212. Be sure all forms are complete and filled out correctly before mailing your package.

• Wait for a response.

If the District Attorney agrees to have your records sealed, they’ll mail you back a signed order to that effect. You can then take that order to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction over your case, who will then present it to a judge.

If the judge agrees to sign off on the order (they usually do if the DA has already agreed), you’ll get a copy of the completed order to have your records sealed. You can then take the order to the various police agencies that have your records on file and give it to them, at which point the agency is obligated to seal your records.

If the DA does not agree to seal your records, you can attempt to appeal directly to the judge, though you should talk to a lawyer first because it’s extremely difficult to get a judge to seal your records if the DA disapproves.

This process is broadly the same for all Nevada courts, though the police agencies involved and the relevant courts will be different in other jurisdictions. A lawyer can answer any questions you have about where to file your petition or other issues with the process.

Are There Some Records That Cannot Be Sealed?

While the records for many crimes can be sealed after a sufficient waiting period, some criminal records cannot be sealed.

Criminal records that cannot be sealed include:

• Any crimes against minors (people under the age of 18)
• Sex crimes
• Felony charges for drunk driving or drugged driving
• Home invasion charges if a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the crime

Contact a Las Vegas Record Sealing Lawyers

To make the record-sealing process go as quickly and painlessly as possible, it’s a good idea to get help from an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Get a free initial consultation with our Las Vegas record-sealing lawyers by calling our office or visiting our contact page.

The post How to Seal a Criminal Record in Nevada appeared first on ADRAS & ALTIG, Attorneys at Law.

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via https://www.adrasandaltiglaw.com