How to Expunge Records in New York
- 1). Meet the requirements. You can apply to have your DNA records and samples expunged in the state of New York provided that you meet specific requirements, according to Research Lawyers. When records are expunged in New York, the records are either destroyed or returned to the defendant. If a defendant has been acquitted, has had her conviction reversed or vacated, or if a defendant has been pardoned, she can apply to have her records expunged.
- 2). Defendants can also check their eligibility under new laws. Laws that went into effect in 2007, allow for expungement in certain drug offenses, according to the law firm of Higbee and Associates. Click on the link in the resource box to take their test to see if you meet the qualifications. Under New York Criminal Procedure (Penal Code 160.50), a defendant convicted of the majority of felony drug, Willard non-drug eligible, or marijuana crimes may request their records for those crimes be sealed. He must successfully complete DIVERSION, or DTAP. Or he must complete a similar substance abuse program that is recognized by the court. The sealing will extend to up to three misdemeanor drug or marijuana convictions.
- 3). Petition the court. If a New York defendant meets the requirements for expunction, he must file a petition with the court. If granted, the records and samples will be destroyed or returned to the defendant.
- 4). Contact juvenile court to have your juvenile records expunged. "Eighty percent of large or medium sized employers conduct background checks," estimates Debbie A. Mukamal, the director of the Prisoner Reentry Institute at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. With background checks becoming the norm, defendants who've commited crimes when they were juveniles should get their juvenile records sealed. According to New York Criminal Law 720.15(1)--when an accusatory instrument against an eligible youth is filed, the court, with the defendant's consent must order the records sealed to the public.
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