“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”!  Creative marketing slogan, right? In this era of Twitter, Instagram and other Internet forums, we know that’s no longer true.  But, unlike Vegas, what happens on the Internet stays on the Internet.  If you’ve been charged with a crime, this fact should definitely cause you some concern.  Why?  Because today it is almost laughably easy to access information about an individual’s criminal record which, if you’re applying for a job, can doom your chances of even getting an interview, never mind the job itself.

Employment restrictions are just one example of the impact that having a criminal record can have on your life.  The United States and Canada are just two of the countries that either require special waivers for entry or refuse entry altogether for people with convictions. A conviction may also make it impossible to emigrate to another country. The worst case scenario is, of course, appearing on the dreaded “No Fly” list.  Additionally, convicted felons are not permitted to vote in 14 states.  A criminal record can prevent you from holding  public office (interestingly, not Congress!) or even purchasing a firearm.

As the Internet makes such information so readily accessible, many people are now looking into clearing their court records, otherwise known as getting them “expunged”.  If you’ve been convicted of a crime here, there are some things you should know about getting convictions expunged in Maryland.

First, some general info about “expungement.”  In short, expungement of your court records essentially removes them from public inspection. This legal erasure of past criminal records is not actually a Constitutional or legal right. It is available only to certain individuals and then only under certain circumstances. A petition for expungement is not automatically granted and certain records are not subject to erasure.

Here, then, is what you need to know for getting convictions expunged in Maryland:

  • Any court record or police record currently maintained which was in existence before July 1, 1975 may be expunged (the statute sets out very specific exclusions which a criminal defense attorney experienced in this area can review with you).
  • You are not eligible to petition for expungement if you were convicted of more than one non-violent crime.
  • You are not entitled to an expungement in any case in which a finding of your guilt was entered.
  • You are not eligible to petition for expungement unless you have received an unconditional pardon by the Governor of Maryland.
  • If your petition is based on a guilty verdict for a specified nuisance crime, you are eligible for consideration only after 3 or more years since the date of the conviction or satisfactory completion of any sentence (probation included), whichever is later.

These are probably the most significant of the legal issues applicable to determining your potential eligibility (and there are others). Although these factors may seem daunting, they are relatively straightforward if you entrust the petition process to a lawyer who specializes in criminal defense work, such as getting convictions expunged in Maryland. Is a lawyer required to navigate this landscape? No. But would you really consider relying on your own abilities to resolve something that has such a large potential impact on your personal and professional life?  We didn’t think so.