An expungement is a process by which a person has a prior criminal charge erased from their record. Previously, once a person was charged or convicted of a criminal offense, there was a record of that arrest and or conviction that stayed with the person forever. Under the old expungement statutes there were only limited circumstances in which a person could apply to have a record of their arrest erased or expunged and more importantly a person could only have one expungement per lifetime.
Changes in Expungement Statutes
On July 28th, Governor Roy Cooper signed a law making a wide range of changes to the expungement statute. The new statute now drastically shorts the time frame for expunging a felony conviction from 15 years to 10 years and reduces the time of misdemeanors to 5 years.
Additional changes to the statue now allow for the unlimited expungements of not guilty or dismissed charges as long as the individual does not have a prior felony conviction.
Contact our Criminal Defense Attorneys
If you have been charged with a crime and you were found not guilty, or your charge was dismissed, or if you have been convicted of a non-violent felony or misdemeanor and you would like to see if you are eligible for an expungement, contact our attorneys today at (919) 845-6688 for a free consultation.