New York City Criminal Defense Lawyer » Expungement of Record

Can I Expunge My New Jersey Criminal Conviction?

Howard Weiner — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:54:25 +0000

Unlike New York, New Jersey does allow records of arrests and convictions to be expunged in certain circumstances. After you expunge your criminal record, all underlying documents relating to the arrest or conviction will be destroyed, and you are legally entitled to state that the arrest or conviction never occurred. Because the process is complicated and involves a formal motion to a court, I always recommend retaining an attorney knowledgeable of the New Jersey expungement process.

Can I Expunge My New York Criminal Conviction?

Howard Weiner — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:58:04 +0000

I am often asked by people with New York criminal convictions from their distant past if they can expunge their records. New York is one of a handful of states where a criminal conviction — no matter how ancient or petty — cannot be expunged from one’s record, under any circumstances.

Requests to expunge usually come years after a case is over, and one is faced with an application for employment, graduate school, student loan, or similar situation they never thought would be impacted by their case that may not have been properly handled or taken seriously. Often, the collateral consequences of criminal charges in New York – which can be severe and far-reaching — remain unrealized until several years later, at which point it is too late to do anything about them. This law makes clear how important it can be to hire an experienced lawyer to handle your criminal case.

New York’s Notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws Reformed

Howard Weiner — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:53:46 +0000

On April 7, 2009, New York’s Legislature enacted historic revisions to the notoriously harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws. Many of the changes became effective immediately, applying to cases pending at the time the legislation was signed. As detailed in this 2009 Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Sentencing Chart, for most first time drug offenders, imprisonment is no longer mandatory, and the centerpiece of the reform is authorization for a sentencing court to divert most defendants with an identified alcohol or substance abuse problem to treatment in lieu of prison, without the consent of the District Attorney, which was a requirement under the previous version of the law.