Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer S. Joshua Macktaz, Esq.
Schedule a Free ConsultationGood people make mistakes too. Having a criminal conviction on your arrest “record” because you made a misdemeanor or felony mistake can absolutely ruin your life. This is why it is so important to hire an experienced, aggressive, and knowledgeable Rhode Island Expungement Lawyer to expunge your record and clear your reputation.
And the expungement process to clear your criminal history is simple, can be done completely over the phone with my law office, and will NOT require you to appear in Court.
As an experienced and knowledgeable RI expungement attorney, S. Joshua Macktaz will immediately be able to tell you over the phone if you are eligible to have your criminal conviction expunged, and if so, you will not have to appear in Court with me when the Judge hears your expungement motion.
Rhode Island law requires criminal identification checks for so many things in life such as employment applications, mortgage/rental applications, volunteering applications, and even coaching/chaperoning your child’s sporting events and activities, just to name a few.
Folks with a criminal history or past criminal charge always report difficulty with advancing in life. Is a potential employer going to hire the person with the criminal conviction, or the person without the criminal record?
Luckily, Rhode Island expungement law allows people to expunge arrests, criminal cases, probation, suspended sentences, criminal charges and criminal convictions.
As a RI criminal defense attorney, my law office has helped thousands of people put those mistakes in the past forever. RI expungement law is technical, and there are a number of steps in expungement of a criminal history.
Hiring the best expungement lawyer can make the expungement process easy.
Check out expungement law to view the Rhode Island’s Expungement/Sealing Law.
Absolutely nothing. Under RI expungement law, if a first offender criminal case or criminal charge was dismissed by law enforcement or the prosecution, or a person was found not guilty by a judge or jury of the criminal charges for which they were arrested, the process is called sealing the criminal record.
If a person pleads guilty as a first offender to a criminal offense, or was convicted of a criminal charge and now wants his/her criminal history erased, the process is called expungement.
But the effect on your criminal record is absolutely the same, just different words. If a Rhode Island criminal case is expunged or sealed, 3 things happen:
Under RI expungement law, once a criminal case, criminal charge or criminal history has been Expunged, it is the legal equivalent of “it never happened”.
You are allowed to legally answer “no” to any question about whether you have an arrest record, criminal record or criminal conviction.
Hire the best criminal defense lawyer in Rhode Island with detailed knowledge of expungement law and criminal law to provide proper legal advice and to guide you through the process of an expungement of your criminal record.
Whether or not a first offender can have his/her criminal record expunged depends on (1) what criminal offense was committed, and (2) how the case ended in Court.
In Rhode Island, all criminal charges fall into one of two categories…misdemeanors and felonies. Although the process of expungement of a criminal record is the same in either case, different expungement laws apply for misdemeanors versus felonies.
An experienced and knowledgeable expungement attorney can tell you immediately if your felony conviction or misdemeanor conviction can be expunged.
Under Rhode Island law, a misdemeanor is a criminal charge which carries up to 1 year in jail. These are generally considered “minor” offenses such as disorderly conduct, domestic violence such as domestic disorderly conduct or domestic battery, DUI and larceny (although no criminal charge should ever be taken lightly).
Depending on how the criminal case ended in criminal Court, a misdemeanor can be expunged at different times. So:
Rhode Island Expungement law has recently been expanded beyond first offenders to allow folks with multiple misdemeanor convictions on their Rhode Island criminal record to have all of the old mistakes removed.
However, to be eligible to have multiple misdemeanor convictions Expunged, a person must wait 10 years after the last case ended. So, this is a longer “look-back” period, but it does allow folks to put the past behind them no matter how bad.
As an experienced and aggressive Rhode Island expungement lawyer, I will be able to expunge your criminal history and restore your reputation within 3 weeks of being hired.
Under Rhode Island law, a felony is a criminal charge which carries more than 1 year in jail. These criminal offenses are generally considered “major” criminal cases and, in some situations, result in jail sentences. Once again, depending on how the felony criminal case ends in Court, a felony conviction can be expunged at different times. So:
A knowledgeable and experienced expungement lawyer can tell you immediately over the phone if your criminal history and charges can be expunged.
The answer is yes…charges which are considered ”crimes of violence” can never be expunged from a Rhode Island criminal record. Rhode Island expungement law specifically defines what is considered a “crime of violence”:
The RI expungement process of having your criminal record erased is much easier than you may think, especially for an experienced and knowledgeable RI criminal defense lawyer.
The first step to expungement of a criminal record is the filing of a Motion to Expunge with the criminal Court where your criminal charges were handled.
All the information I need to file a RI expungement I can obtain from the Court’s computer and a brief conversation over the phone with you.
Prior to filing the RI expungement with the proper criminal Court, I will obtain your signature on a sworn affidavit required by the Court, which will then be filed together with the expungement motion.
The Court will then schedule a single Court appearance before a Judge in approximately 2-3 weeks. You are NOT required to attend the expungement Court appearance making this expungement process even more convenient.
After the Judge grants your RI expungement, the Judge then signs an expungement Order which is copied and certified by the clerk of the criminal court, and then that Order is sent to the Attorney General as well as the law enforcement body who arrested you.
Your Rhode Island criminal record is now expunged. Check out these links to see what the RI expungement paperwork looks like:
Yes, and it is easy. Your official Rhode Island criminal record is kept at the Department of Attorney General. You can obtain a certified copy of your criminal identification record by contacting the B.C.I. Office located at:
Rhode Island Department of Attorney General
B.C.I. Unit
4 Howard Avenue
Cranston, Rhode Island 02920
401.274.4400
Check out this link to the B.C.I. Unit at the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General.