Removing Criminal Records: Summit Legal Aid

REMOVING CRIMINAL RECORDS

Pardon Project of Washington County

Pardon applications in Pennsylvania are free, more accessible than ever, and a powerful tool for those who deserve a second chance. No lawyer is needed, and over 80% of people who go before the Board of Pardons are granted a pardon from their record - total forgiveness by the state requiring the courts and law enforcement to erase your record. Washington County has formed a team of public officials, lawyers, nonprofits, and community leaders to help applicants write the best pardon application they can.

Do you have a nonviolent Washington County record at least three years old? Do you live in Washington County and have such a record? Or will you volunteer to help someone clear their record? Learn about our pardon project here.

Expungement and Sealing Records

Don’t let old arrests and convictions hold you back from getting ahead in life. Even if charges are withdrawn or dismissed or you are found not guilty, charges stay on your public record. Some old misdemeanor convictions on your public record do not need to remain there. These can interfere with your ability to get a job, get housing or public assistance, enlist in the military and even protect your parental rights. But there are ways to fix this.

Expunging and sealing records can help you by either clearing your record or removing it from public view. Expunged records are destroyed and gone forever. While law enforcement and the courts can still access sealed records, employers, landlords and the general public cannot.

As long as you haven’t been convicted of a charge, our expungement lawyers can petition for either a full or partial expungement. In some misdemeanor cases, you can be cleared of a conviction as well; see below for details.

EXPUNGEMENTS

Expungements can be granted for any conviction in these limited circumstances:

Summary non-traffic citations (so long as fines/costs are paid)
- if you have been free from arrest for 5 years, or
- if the conviction occurred before you were 18, and you are now 18+ and over 6 months has passed.
You are 70 and have been free from probation or incarceration for at least 10 years.
A relative has been deceased for at least three years.

AUTOMATIC SEALING

Automatic sealing

Non-convictions, after 60 days
Summary convictions, after 10 years
Low-level Misdemeanors, specifically any misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 2 years or less, including Misdemeanor 2s and 3s and drug possession offenses, if you have been free from conviction for a Misdemeanor or Felony for 10 years and if you:
- have no Felony convictions,
- have no more than one Misdemeanor 1 conviction,
- have a total of less than four convictions of any Misdemeanor and
- have not been convicted of certain Misdemeanor 2s and 3s, including Indecent Exposure and Failure to Register as a sex offender.
Misdemeanors ineligible to seal: any crime of violence, firearms and sexual offenses, Corruption of Minors and Cruelty to Animals.

SEALING BY PETITION

Sealing by petition

Misdemeanors of any grading, if you have been free from conviction for a Misdemeanor or Felony for 10 years, and if you:
- have never been convicted of murder, a Felony 1 or a felony punishable by over 20 years;
- within the last 20 years have not been convicted of:
  - a felony involving firearms, violence, a sexual offense or failure to register for a sexual offense, or
  - 4 or more Misdemeanor 2s or higher; and
- within the last 15 years have not been convicted of:
  - 2 or more Misdemeanor 1s or higher, or
  - certain offenses, including Indecent Exposure and failure to register for a sexual offense.
- Misdemeanor 1 convictions ineligible to seal: any crime of violence, firearms and sexual offenses, Corruption of Minors and Cruelty to Animals.

If you are ineligible for expungement or sealing, you can apply for a pardon. This is a long process: after submission, it takes at least two years, and includes an investigation by the Board of Probation and Parole and a hearing before the Board of Pardons. The following are taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to grant a pardon:

The amount of time that has passed since the crime was committed
That you have completed and complied with all sentence requirements
That you have made positive changes to your life since the crime
What impact the crime had on the victim
Why you need the pardon (for example, that you have been turned down for jobs or housing)