When Can a Person Be Eligible For the Expungement of a Conviction?

By Jason White | Published on September 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

In the state of Utah, a series of very specific rules dictate whether or not a convicted felon can qualify for expungement. According to Provo attorney Jason White of the law office of Jason White Attorney at Law, however, attorneys can usually determine whether their clients will qualify for expungement after asking just a few simple questions.

A few of the questions that an attorney in Provo would be likely to ask when determining whether a potential client could get a prior conviction expunged from his or her record would be:

• Do you have any criminal cases pending?
• Are you being investigated by the police in any jurisdiction?
• Have you been convicted of more than two felonies?
• Have you ever been convicted of a class A misdemeanor? If so, how many?
• Have you ever been convicted of a class B misdemeanor? If so, how many?
• Have you been convicted of five or more crimes, not including minor infractions like parking tickets and traffic citations?

A person who answers “yes” to the questions posed above may not qualify for an expungement; however, White notes that it is still important to get in contact with an attorney in Provo to find out for sure.

In many cases, seemingly minor details can have a huge impact when determining whether or not an individual can seek an expungement, and an attorney would only be able to determine which of these details apply in a case after speaking to the potential client by telephone or in person.

Time limits are also important, given that the state of Utah has set certain limitations on the length of time that various felonies or misdemeanors can be held against people.

Additionally, the Provo attorney says that there are some instances where people want to expunge crimes they were not convicted of. In these cases, White would be likely to ask questions such as:

• Were you arrested within the past 30 days?
• Have you been arrested since the crime you are calling about?

If the answer to either of those questions is “yes,” then the person probably cannot get his case expunged. Rather, he or she will need to wait until a certain amount of time has passed, after which it may be possible to revisit the situation.

For people who do qualify, expungement can be an excellent way to get certain types of criminal charges erased and cleared. For more information on the topic, White recommends contacting his firm and asking for a consultation appointment.

*Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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