Remove Your Criminal Record from Public View: Non-Disclosure Attorney
Is a criminal record preventing you from obtaining that new job? Have you found your mug shot and arrest record online? If so, please contact me at 817-284-2263 and let me help remove that arrest record from public view.
Not everyone will have an opportunity to expunge, seal or non-disclose their criminal records, but many people do have this remedy available for them. Unfortunately, people are not aware of this incredible opportunity to remove their prior arrest history that has affected them in so many ways. Primarily because of the rapid changes in our legal system that did not exist just a few years ago.
Recent developments through our Legislative system now allow people with certain criminal records to finally have a chance to remove those records from public view. I am referring to the Non-disclosure statutes in Texas which allow certain people under specific situations the opportunity to have their criminal records “sealed from public view.”
The explosion of the internet and the ability to look up a person’s criminal history is something no one could have foreseen 30 years ago. There are now a plethora of private companies that research and post people’s criminal arrest records for profit. Should a mistake, a lapse in judgment, or just a bad decision stay with you and affect the rest of your life? We are finally realizing that often the consequences of an even very minor crime are far more serious than the actual punishment handed down by the court system. People lose educational opportunities, job opportunities, housing opportunities, and even the right to become citizens or live in this county because of very minor and old offenses.
When a Judge hands down a deferred adjudication sentence to a defendant in open court the Judge will say to the defendant something very similar to this – “If you successfully completed your probation, your plea of guilty will be withdrawn and your case will be dismissed.” Now ask yourself this, what did the defendant hear? He heard the case will then be removed from my record. But no one said that. What the Court was indicating is that the defendant will not have a final conviction for the underlying offense. But make no mistake about it, the record is still there unless you take the necessary steps to non-disclose the criminal record.
The Texas Legislature first addressed the issue of Non-Disclosure in 2004 which allowed for certain offenses in which the defendant successfully completed a deferred adjudication probation to be non-disclosed. So, for many years non-disclosure was only allowed for certain deferred probations successfully completed. However, in 2015 the legislature allowed for certain offenses in very specific situations to be non-disclosed even when the disposition of the offense ended with a conviction. But an even more dramatic change came in 2017 when our Legislators allowed for certain first time Driving While Intoxicated offense to be non-disclosed. This was a very needed addition to the Non-Disclosure statue because so many of these people would have otherwise never found themselves in the criminal justice system. And more than likely you will never see that person facing criminal charges again. Many of these people will now finally have a chance to Non-Disclose their DWI record.
Now, if your case was dismissed outright, No-billed by the Grand Jury, or you were found Not Guilty you will more than likely be eligible for an “expunction” of your criminal record. Please give me a call and let us do a little research to see if we can help clean up this embarrassing past. Stephen D. Handy 817-284-2263. We would love to help you.
Stephen D Handy: Fort Worth Expunction and Non-Disclosure Attorney
