Asheville criminal defense lawyer Meghann Burke Thousands of Buncombe County residents have been able to clean up their criminal records by expunging dismissed charges or old convictions. However, until recently there were major shortfalls to North Carolina’s expunction laws. These shortfalls left many people struggling to find and keep a job or an apartment after their criminal case had been resolved. Many of these people found it hard to make positive change in their lives with old charges hanging over them.
NC Senate Bill 445: What are the new expunction laws?
The North Carolina legislature made significant changes to the existing expunction law in 2017. These changes have the potential to help thousands of people move on with their lives after being charged with a crime. Here are the highlights of the new expungement legislation:
- The waiting period to expunge first-time nonviolent misdemeanor convictions has been reduced from 15 years to 5 years. This means that people who want to expunge misdemeanor larceny, drug possession, or other nonviolent larcenies still have a significant waiting period before they can have their charges expunged, but the wait is not as burdensome as it once was. Only non-violent misdemeanors that are unrelated to domestic violence can be expunged.
- The waiting period for first-time nonviolent felonies has also been reduced. The new waiting period is 10 years, as opposed to 15 years. Those who want to expunge felony convictions still must wait a long time; however, many people with felony drug convictions from 2007 or earlier could seek an expunction once the revised law goes into effect.
- People who have multiple dismissed charges or charges that resulted in a not-guilty verdict can now seek more than one expungement in their lifetime. Previous versions of the expunction law only allowed people to seek one expunction in their lifetime. Even if the petitioner sought only to expunge dismissed charges, they were barred from doing so if they had already used their one expunction.
Image by juras10 / 123RF Stock Photo Some of the old limits of the law still apply. For instance, people can only seek an expunction if they have not previously been convicted of a felony. Only nonviolent charges that were unrelated to domestic violence can be expunged. Special rules apply to expunging DWI charges.
In addition, charges and convictions that are expunged after December 2017 – when the changes go into effect – can be accessed by district attorneys’ offices and can be considered as prior offenses for sentencing purposes in future criminal cases.
In addition, charges and convictions that are expunged after December 2017 – when the changes go into effect – can be accessed by district attorneys’ offices and can be considered as prior offenses for sentencing purposes in future criminal cases.
Contact an Asheville criminal defense attorney for help expunging your record
Getting an expunction was already complicated, especially for someone who didn’t know how to get a criminal record expunged. The changes to NC’s expunction law, while positive, are likely to make the process even more complex. In addition, even if you are not sure if you are eligible to expunge your charges, it’s important to speak to an attorney to be sure. Sometimes there are other ways of asking the courts to order that old charges be erased from your record. For more information about the expungement process in North Carolina and how an attorney can help, contact us through the form on this page or call our Asheville law office at (828) 255-5400.
