Corrections or additions?
This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring was prepared for the August 7, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
How to Clear A Criminal Record
A lot of people live in fear,” says attorney George
Yuska. “They’re afraid to take a promotion, afraid to enter a
profession.” The reason? A brush with the law — maybe decades
ago — that would turn up in the background checks that more and
more employers are making in the post-911 world.
An arrest, even one that did not result in a conviction, can haunt
anyone seeking certification in a profession, applying for a job,
or trying to get into graduate school. The self-employed also can
be affected, Yuska points out. Evidence of a criminal offense —
or arrest — can mean an small business owner could fail to win
a government contract.
Even before 911, Yuska got calls from parents worried about the effects
their children’s legal offenses could have on their futures, and from
employees and professionals worried about how their careers could
be affected. Now the pace of calls has picked up. “I get as many
as five a month,” says Yuska.
Common offenses callers cite include possession of a small amount
of marijuana, shoplifting, theft, and soliciting a prostitute. Often,
the arrest occurred many years ago.
In many cases, it is possible to make the record of a criminal contact
go away through a legal process called expungement. Yuska speaks on
“Expungement: How to Erase a Youthful Indiscretion from Your Permanent
Record,” on Friday, August 16, at 9 a.m. at a free seminar at
Mercer County Community College. Call 914-251-1500, ext. 112.
Yuska works on civil as well as criminal matters for Stark & Stark,
where he has been practicing for five years. He is a graduate of St.
John Fisher College (Class of 1984) and earned his J.D. at the University
of Dayton in 1988. Prior to joining the law firm, he spent seven years
as a prosecutor in New York City and two-and-a-half years in the organized
crime division of the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.
He is married to Lillian Nazzaro, a personal injury defense attorney
associated with the firm of Patricia McGlone in West Trenton. Nazzaro
grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton High School. The couple
met in law school and moved from New York City to New Jersey looking
for a better quality of life for their children. They have two sons,
Dylan, 8, and Andrew, 6, and they live in Pennington.
Yuska says that after an expungement, the record of a criminal contact
is sealed, allowing employees — also job seekers — to legally
answer “no” when asked if they have ever been arrested or
convicted of a crime. Not every offense can be expunged, however,
and there are certain circumstances in which even an expunged offense
can see the light of day again.
“It gets complicated,” Yuska says more than once in explaining
how expungement works. Some offenses can not be expunged. They include
convictions for murder, robbery, and sexual assault. In addition,
motor vehicle offenses — including convictions for drunk driving
— are not criminal matters, and therefore can not be expunged.
Possessing a quantity of an illegal drug for personal use can be expunged
in most cases. Possessing a drug with the intent to sell can not be
expunged.
Doctors and podiatrists are treated a little differently. While they
get the same treatment as everyone else with regard to the expungement
of most offenses, any drug convictions or dispositions can be reported
to their medical boards.
Attorneys are eligible to have their criminal contacts expunged, but
if they throw their hats into the ring for an appointment to the bench,
the records can be unsealed. Individuals seeking work in law enforcement
— whether on the local police force or in federal agency such
as the F.B.I. or C.I.A. — also lose the protection of any expungement,
as do candidates for jobs as corrections officers.
It is possible to expunge several offenses at one time — perhaps
one felony and two or three lesser offenses. Anyone whose offenses
have climbed into the double digits is not going to have much luck
with expungement. This, explains Yuska, is how the process of expungement
works:
Calculating the damage. “When we meet with a client,we advise him or her on how to get a background check,” he says.”We need to know what is out there.”Looking at time requirements. If an individual has beenarrested and his case has been dismissed, he can apply right awayto have the record of the arrest expunged. Where there is an administrativedismissal after a supervised treatment program — perhaps a drugoffense — the individual can apply for expungement six monthsafter the treatment program ends.After a conviction as a disorderly person, the term New Jersey usesfor misdemeanors of all kinds, the waiting period is five years. Fora felony it is 10 years. Sometimes, individuals arrested on a criminalcharge are allowed, through plea bargaining, to plead to the violationof a municipal ordinance. In that case, they must wait for two yearsbefore filing a petition for expungement.Filing the petition. Upon determining that his client’soffenses are eligible to receive consideration for expungement, anattorney files a petition with the court, and a hearing is scheduledin 35 to 60 days. This petition must be served on a number of lawenforcement agencies, all of which have the opportunity to object.Getting an approval. “Objections to an expungementpetition are not subjective,” says Yuska. “There are objectivecriteria.” Included are the nature of the offense, the numberof convictions, and the statutory time periods one must wait beforefiling the petition.Sealing the record. If there are no objections, the judgesigns an order for expungement, and it is served on all law enforcementagencies that were involved in the arrest, conviction, or disposition.The attorney then follows up to make sure that, in fact, the recordof the offense has been sealed.Yuska notes that every state has different rules governing expungement.As a New Jersey attorney, he can not work at sealing arrest or convictionrecords for a client who now lives and works in New Jersey, but whohas a criminal record in Nebraska, California, and North Carolina,for example.For clients whose offenses can be sealed in New Jersey, the processbrings a second chance at a clean record. Says Yuska: “Expungementprovides an individual who has made a mistake an opportunity to shedthe negative stigma of a conviction or legal contact that may detrimentallyaffect his livelihood and career potential.”Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
