Pardons / Expungements / Means of Relief

Pardons, Expungements, and other means of relief from consequences of conviction, including sex offender registration and weapons ban

Relief from the civil and criminal consequences of a criminal conviction is available in most situations. Most forms of relief require some form of post-conviction action, such as sealing records or vacating convictions, expungements, certificates of rehabilitation, and pardons.

Proper handling of a criminal case requires knowledge of the civil consequences of criminal convictions, and what relief may ultimately be available and what circumstances may warrant relief. It is important to know, for example, whether a defendant can be relieved of the duty to admit a conviction on employment applications or whether a defendant will receive professional discipline. Effects of a criminal conviction will have ramifications on professional licenses, immigration status, and employment, not to mention gun licenses, liquor licenses, and requirements for registration as a sex offender or narcotic offender.

The civil consequences of conviction are especially significant in the sex offense cases. In particular, Megan's Law and Jessica's Law result in lifetime registration as a sex offender and severely limit the areas in which a convicted person may reside. A glance at the Megan's Law website, which contains photos of the convicted person, along with an interactive map to his or her residence and other details, will evidence the importance of obtaining post-conviction relief from the registration requirement in sex offense cases. At the very least, a person may often b able to obtain from the Department of Justice, exclusion from disclosure on the internet website.