If you have a criminal record, you understand how far-reaching its effects can be. From affecting your employment prospects to housing options, a criminal record is more than just jail time. As such, you may understandably want to know how to expunge your criminal record in New Jersey. An experienced criminal defense attorney can assist in all aspects of your case, including clearing up any misconceptions about what crimes can be expunged in New Jersey.
What Is a Criminal Record in NJ?
Your criminal record is a summary of your criminal history. It includes personal information, such as your name, date of birth, gender, and ethnicity. It also contains your fingerprints and information about your prior criminal offenses, arrest records, warrants, and convictions.
If you have prior convictions, the New Jersey criminal justice system will refer to your criminal record for necessary information for future proceedings, including sentencing. However, your criminal record can also appear in background checks related to employment and housing prospects. Because of the potential detrimental effects of a criminal record, it is critical to retain an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as you are charged. They can help mitigate the potential consequences of those charges or a conviction through skilled legal advocacy and negotiation.
Employment Consequences
Having a criminal record in New Jersey can impact your employment in several ways, including your ability to secure a job and whether you can continue working in certain professions. You could have trouble getting a job due to your criminal record. A potential employer could refuse to hire you based on an arrest or conviction record they discovered through a background check. You could also be denied employment due to your record if you seek employment in specific industries, including education or healthcare. Finally, if you’re a New Jersey government employee, you could face termination for some criminal convictions.
In light of these potential negative consequences, New Jersey has taken measures to improve the economic viability of communities and help those with criminal records reintegrate into the workforce. The Opportunity to Compete Act provides opportunities for employment and training for New Jersey residents with criminal records to support their families and be the productive members of society they want to be.
Housing and Financial Impacts
Although having a criminal record in New Jersey can affect your housing prospects, the state’s Fair Chance in Housing Act (FCHA) protects tenants with criminal records by mitigating these effects. Specifically, the law prohibits landlords from inquiring about your criminal history during the initial housing application process or intake interview before they make a conditional offer. Only after a conditional housing offer is made can the landlord consider your criminal record if it contains certain offenses.
New Jersey landlords can only consider certain convictions in the leasing process. When leasing property, landlords may only consider first-degree offense convictions in the past six years, second or third-degree offenses in the past four years, and fourth-degree crimes within the past year. However, they can consider certain violent offenses, including murder and aggravated sexual assault. Further, the landlord must weigh specific factors when evaluating you as a tenant, such as your age when you committed the crime, the offense’s severity, and whether the crime was related to a prior rental property.
Immigration and Travel Issues
If you are convicted of a crime in New Jersey, you could be deported, depending on your immigration status. The judge in your case could order deportation if you are guilty of a crime of moral turpitude, such as murder or rape, an aggravated felony, or any criminal offense if you are an undocumented immigrant.
Specifically, if you are arrested as an undocumented non-citizen (even if you are acquitted of the alleged offense), you may be referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is the law enforcement branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE could take you into custody and initiate removal proceedings before an immigration judge.
Understanding Expungement in NJ
If you are convicted of a crime, you should understand how to expunge an arrest record in New Jersey. What is expungement? Criminal record expungement is a legal process in which you can have your record sealed or removed from public view. In other words, the process treats the record, whether a charge or conviction, as if it never occurred (subject to limited exceptions).
To be eligible for expungement under New Jersey law, you must meet specific criteria, including the requisite waiting period after completing your sentence or a not-guilty verdict. The length of the waiting period depends on the type of offense. Or you could expunge your entire criminal record (including multiple offenses) after a ten-year waiting period under New Jersey’s Clean Slate law. Your expungement may be even shorter if you are eligible for the “early pathway.” This shorter waiting period is available if you meet specific requirements, including the fact that the expungement is in the public interest and you do not have any additional convictions.
An attorney can guide you through the expungement process by completing and filing a petition for expungement with the court. You can file the expungement petition online. The court will hold a hearing on the matter and issue an order. Because of the potential challenges you may encounter, the benefit of having a lawyer by your side throughout the process cannot be overstated.
Once the expungement order is entered, it is sent to law enforcement agencies to remove expunged records from their files, including the New Jersey State Police. The state police must remove expunged criminal complaints from the Computerized Criminal History (CCH) system, which is used when responding to criminal background checks. This can give you the peace of mind you deserve following expungement.
Contact Our New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyers to Learn More
If you want to learn more about expungement, contact Keith Oliver Criminal Law. At our firm, we understand how a criminal charge can affect your everyday life. Contact us today to discuss your expungement options in a free case review.
