Felony charges are no joking matter. They are the highest punitive charges that can be issued from the government; when penalized, it can affect a number of life altering elements when sustained on a permanent record. Yet, there is hope: an expunged record is a government or judicial procedure where a judge reviews your case to decide whether to clear your record. Therefore, if you have been charged or convicted of a felony, here is some viable information that could help you.
If you have been charged with a felony, it is suggested to hire an attorney immediately - if you can't afford one, the state will appoint one for you, If you have been charged with a felony, once the charges have been filed, the prosecuting defense will appoint an arraignment where your charges will be read to you. At this point, the court will also relay the possibility of a bond in which an amount may be paid for freedom pending a trial. After this, a preliminary hearing will be set.
At this hearing, the court will need to explicate the charges in order to prove that you committed the felony pending that it occurred. Lastly, if the state does prove these two things, another court appearance will be mandated. Most cases will then proceed to the circuit courts where they are expected to fulfill legal requirements; if charged, you must understand that the state has an enormous responsibility to provide enough evidence for a felony conviction. If they succeed in establishing this, a trial date will be chosen.
If you are convicted of a felony it can affect your credit score, job possibilities, your voting rights, ability to hold public office and firearm rights. Also, many times, those who have been convicted of felonies are some of the first people to be targeted in police line-ups; sometimes federal aid for college or parenting responsibilities will also be denied. Lastly, there is also a possibility that visas will be restricted for traveling abroad to different countries.
There are many different factors involved in expounding a felony since state jurisdictions have different legalities and procedures to follow. Charges, court dates, being arrested and convicted may stay on your record until they are expunged by the legal system. There are also certain restrictions depending upon each state, In Florida, if convicted of a felony, it cannot be expunged. Felonies can be reviewed in city or county records as well as state and federal events.
It is important to understand that should your record be expunged, that a federal copy would be kept; most of the times if your conviction is expunged, court dates and arrests are not necessarily also cleared with this same petition. A lot of the times if you were acquitted of a felony charge, an expunged record is relatively easy to receive and most of the times, a person who has a felony needs to complete their sentence in order to be considered for an expunged record. If your record is cleared most agencies will seal their records and act as if the conviction did not occur, yet, sometimes, there are government officials who are privy to sealed or expunged records.
In Utah, if a person wishes to request a petition for a felony to be expunged, fees, fines, and restitution must first be paid. If a felony conviction is requested to be expunged in this state, 10 years must have passed from probation, parole, conviction or incarceration. Sometimes, should a state deny your request or should a felony be inaccessible due to state mandate, the best course of action with a possible job employer would be to be honest; one source alleges that many employers will give those who have past felony records a chance. Yet, one dishonest action on a former felon's part warrants the employer to fire them with any questions asked. If you have a record or are currently facing felony charges, ask an experienced attorney about the details of your case.
