In this day in age, most of your personal information can be easily found online, including your criminal record. Your criminal record can reflect:

• Criminal charges and arrests
• Convictions and charges of felony and misdemeanor
• Probation or other relevant sentencing information
• Civil infractions and traffic tickets

How can this affect you?

Have you applied for a new job? or applied for housing? If so, then most likely your potential employer or landlord has performed a background check. Your criminal record could prevent you from getting that new job or being approved for that new home.

However, it is not only your potential new job or home that can be affected. A criminal record can also impact other areas of your life. Acquiring firearms and voting might become a problem for you; your professional license may be in jeopardy; or you may just be embarrassed that your criminal record is out there for everyone to see.

What do you do?

You may want to expunge your record.

What is expungement?

Expungement is a legal process through which an arrest or conviction may be erased from a person’s criminal record.

RIGL §12-1-12 directs that those authorized to collect identifiers of persons arrested shall destroy them within sixty days after the accused has been acquitted or otherwise exonerated. Further, chapter 12-1.3 of the R.I.G.L. calls for the expungement of criminal records when certain criteria have been met. As the central repository for criminal records, the BCI Unit must delete the record of arrest in those cases where the accused has been acquitted or exonerated. In cases of court-ordered expungements, the BCI Unit acts within sixty days of receipt of the order.

Rhode Island law sets out a procedure for a first offender to file a motion to expunge a record of conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor. Upon request, the Department of Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Identification Unit (BCI) provides the offender a copy of the conviction record at a cost. The Judicial Records Center maintains the criminal complaint which is available for copying. The foregoing information is needed to complete a motion to expunge.

If you need an expungement, your best bet is to contact an Attorney who is experienced in this area of law. Attorney Archambault understands the anxiety individuals experience when dealing with criminal misdemeanors or the like. Therefore, he takes the time to meet with his clients to explain the entire process. Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your case with Attorney Archambault.