Hi. This is Eric with more advice for ex-offenders looking for jobs, how to clean up your criminal record. Having that criminal record is not the end of the world! There are legal ways to have things on your criminal record permanently removed. It is important to know exactly what is on your record. There may be false or erroneous information there that could seriously damage your chances of being employed. You can have false erroneous information immediately removed upon petitioning the court. You could also have certain convictions officially and formally erased from your record. This process is called expungement—to have a charge or a conviction expunged, you must petition the court through application and this has to be heard. Once the judge grants it, it is totally and permanently removed from your record. Another process called the sealing of records. When records are sealed, the judge orders the court clerk to hide all proceedings regarding a certain case from public view. When this happens, you could officially deny all sealed records. When cases are sealed, the information is treated by the court as though it never existed. You can even have juvenile records sealed through a juvenile court, but once this is done, the offense shall be deemed never to have occurred. There are no exceptions to this type of sealing. Offenses are treated as though they never happened. A court not only seals these records, but also orders that records containing information about the charges by others be sealed as well. Once the criminal record is sealed, all of the proceedings in it are treated as though they never occurred. You could even deny under oath, a sealed record! Another process is called a certificate of rehabilitation. You could petition the court for a certificate of rehabilitation if you have been convicted of a felony. Once you achieve the certificate, it declares that a person to have been convicted of a felony is rehabilitated. If a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation is granted, it is forwarded to the governor and constitutes an application for a pardon from that particular conviction and in some cases; the granting of certificate of rehabilitation relieves some from the sex offender registration requirement. This information is not legal advice. It should not be intended as legal advice; you should consult a qualified professional that is experienced in this field. There are organizations in your community that offer free or low cost services that could help you with these processes. These organizations may also have relationships with employers who hire ex-offenders. Check your local telephone directory for these organizations or check with your probation or parole officer to get you in contact with them. Once again, good luck having your criminal record cleaned up and go get that job!
