Merrillville Expungement Lawyers

Helping Individuals in Merrillville Determine if they are Eligible to Have their Criminal Records Expunged

The State of Indiana allows individuals to petition for a criminal record expungement under certain circumstances. The final decision on whether or not a particular individual’s criminal record will be expunged is ultimately left up to a court of law. If the judge does decide to expunge your record, you may be able to validly state on a job application, for example, that you have never been convicted of a criminal offense in the past. 

If you are interested in seeing if your criminal charge or record qualifies for expungement, you should contact the experienced Merrillville expungement lawyers at Arshad, Pangere & Warring. Our legal team can determine your eligibility and could assist you with filing a petition for expungement of your record with the court. Please contact us to learn more about how we could assist you with pursuing an expungement of your criminal record.

No Prior Convictions

In Indiana, you might be eligible to have your criminal record expunged if you do not have any prior convictions on your record. In order for you to be eligible, you must wait for a period of one year, starting from the date on which you were arrested. You must also satisfy the following requirements:

• You were not convicted of the offense, despite the fact that you were arrested; or
• You were convicted after your arrest, but the court subsequently vacated that conviction

Prior Convictions for Class D Felonies, Class D Felonies that were Reduced to Misdemeanors, and Misdemeanors

If you have been convicted for one or more of these offenses in the past, you may be able to qualify for a records expungement under the following circumstances:

• The underlying offense was not a sex offense or a violent criminal offense
• You were not previously convicted of at least two individual felony offenses that involved a deadly weapon
• You have paid all of the relevant fees, fines, restitution, and/or court costs that were pertinent to your criminal case
• You do not have any pending criminal cases or pending criminal charges 
• You have not sustained any additional criminal convictions since the subject criminal offense which you are seeking to have expunged

Prior to filing a petition for expungement for a Class D felony conviction that was reduced to a misdemeanor, or a misdemeanor conviction, you have to wait for a period of five years, starting on the date of your conviction. You have to wait a period of eight years from the date of your conviction if you are seeking to expunge a prior Class D felony conviction. 

You might also be eligible to file a petition for expungement for a felony other than a Class D felony conviction under certain circumstances. However, not all Class D felony offenses and other felony offenses, including those that involve homicide, serious bodily injury, or sex offenses, are not eligible for expungement. 

Call a Merrillville Expungement Lawyer Today

If you are interested in learning whether your prior criminal charge or conviction is eligible for expungement, the legal team at Arshad, Pangere & Warring could help you. To schedule a case evaluation and legal consultation with a Merrillville expungement attorney, please contact us directly.