Convictions Not Eligible for Expungement

What You Can Do If You Ineligible For Record Expungement

Many of our clients come to us with sometimes complex criminal record scenarios,and because of the current expungement statutes in Ohio, we are not able to help them seal their criminal records. There are some criminal records that cannot be expunged due to the nature of the offense. If you have been told that you are ineligible for expungement by an attorney, you should consider the following options.

Know For Sure

First, be certain you know whether or not you are eligible.  Ohio’s expungement/sealing statute has undergone major changes over the last several years.  The law has expanded to increase the number of criminal offenses that can be expunged and has added new offenses that were once not eligible for expungement.  A person who did not qualify in the past may now be eligible.  Take our free online consultation to know for sure.

File A New Motion

Often a person is not eligible because they have more than the number of convictions permitted to receive an expungement of their record under Ohio law. In some cases, people simply forget about an old conviction they received when they were younger or they mistakenly believed their old case did not result in a conviction. If the circumstance are appropriate, we re-open one of their cases by filing a Motion to Vacate Judgement of the criminal record and work to have the old record dismissed or resolved in a way that makes that person eligible for an expungement of their other criminal records. This involves two separate proceedings involving the Rules of Criminal Procedure and Ohio’s Sealing Statute. We have been successful multiple times in different courts in Ohio doing just this in order to make people eligible to seal their records.

Apply For Expungement

Some people who we have advised do not qualify for expungement still request that we represent them regardless. They want to at least give it a shot and they understand the risk that they may not succeed. We give them an honest assessment of the chances for their expungement application. On occasion we accept these cases if we believe we can develop a good legal argument or case law to contend their case is an exception. We have been successful in many cases where the judges agree with our arguments and grant the expungement.

File For A Pardon

A pardon is also known as executive clemency. Under this procedure, the Governor of the State of Ohio has the power to pardon or forgives a person of their crimes. However, the Governor only grants a few pardons each year and the cases must have exceptional circumstances in order for the Ohio Parole Board and Governor to even consider them. Of the many applications submitted each year, only a very few are approved. It should also be noted that a pardon does not seal the criminal records. The pardoned conviction is still available for the public to view and if a person wants those pardoned convictions to be expunged and sealed, they must still follow the procedures set forth in the Ohio Expungement Statute, O.R.C. 2953.31 et. seq.

Don’t let an old conviction ruin your future. You can’t afford to put off hiring an experienced Ohio expungement lawyer. Contact our law firm for a confidential and free expungement consultation to determine if you are eligible for an expungement and sealing of your criminal record.