Muskogee Expungement Attorney

Are You Ready to Move On With Your Life?

In Muskogee, Oklahoma, old convictions usually turn up on background checks for employment, housing, loans, and the like. When a conviction turns up on a background check, you don’t want to lie about it to a prospective employer or landlord. However, telling the truth may mean that you can forget about this particular job or apartment. Muskogee expungement attorney

If you are having difficulty moving forward after you have served your time, you might want the counsel of a Muskogee expungement attorney to help you finally put your past behind you.

The word “expungement” means to erase something. Getting an expungement is a bit like getting a magic eraser in your Christmas stocking. If you qualify for an expungement, you can erase your old conviction. An expungement seals certain records from public view. If you get your records expunged, it is almost as if your conviction never happened.

Expungements are complicated. There are different kinds, and each type of expungement has its own qualifying criteria. In addition, different convictions and sentences can affect the time you might have to wait before you can petition the court for an expungement.

This is why you want to have an experienced Muskogee expungement attorney on your side. Your attorney can help you understand what expungement you might qualify for and what will be involved in the petition process.

Different Crimes, Different Expungements

Your Muskogee expungement attorney can evaluate your underlying conviction and the different expungements that are available to you under Oklahoma law.

Do you have a conviction that was handled by a deferred sentence? If so, you might be eligible for a deferred sentence expungement.

Upon completion of the court’s deferred sentence, part of your record can be sealed. Instead of showing that you received a deferred sentence, your court record will show that you pled “not guilty” and that the case was dismissed. This doesn’t erase all of your records, but it can be quite helpful, especially in the short term as you wait for the completion of the required time for a more complete expungement, or if you do not qualify for a more complete expungement.

Only certain misdemeanors and non-violent felonies qualify for a more complete expungement, and the waiting time varies depending on the type of conviction you carry. It also requires a fairly complicated petition. An expungement Petition is not a form, but rather a formal pleading with specific process and notice requirements.

It Can Take a While to Get a Full Expungement

Waiting times for expungements vary depending on the nature of the underlying crime and on the sentence imposed. But if you qualify otherwise, it can well worth the wait to have all of your court records sealed. Some misdemeanors qualify for immediate expungement, while you might have to wait up to five years for other misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Okla. Stat. tit. 22 § 18

Whether you are ready to file a petition now, or simply want to know your options, you will need an experienced and reliable attorney by your side every step of the way. Your Muskogee expungement attorney can handle this process from start to finish.