Pittsburgh Expungements Attorneys
Expungement is the formal name for the process of erasing a person’s criminal record from public view.
Pennsylvania law provide four ways to attempt to deal with your criminal record depending on the seriousness of the criminal offenses and how long you’ve avoided negative police contact:
- Full Expungement: Completely erases the criminal charges from public view
- Partial Expungement: Erases some but not all criminal charges from public view
- Record Sealing: Allows the criminal charges to be viewed only by law enforcement and state-licensed agencies such as occupation boards and child-care facilities
- Governor’s Pardon: Restores all rights lost due to a criminal conviction, including voting rights
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh expungement lawyer, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Why Expunge Your Criminal Record?
A criminal record can hurt you by limiting your job opportunities, restricting your housing options, and even impeding your ability to get a loan. Employers, landlords, and banks routinely check criminal backgrounds.
Having your criminal record expunged, or erased, is vitally important to getting your life back to normal. Fortunately, the process is relatively simple and inexpensive. At Spivak Law Firm, we promptly obtain a certified copy of your criminal record from the Pennsylvania State Police then petition the court to expunge your record. The process can take as long as a year, and we update you about the process at every step.
Spivak Law Firm has proudly helped hundreds of people in and around Pittsburgh expunge their criminal records so they can move on with their lives. To learn more, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Allegheny County Expungement Process
An expungement is a mostly administrative process for erasing your criminal record. In Pennsylvania, an expungement can take about a year due to the large backlog of cases.
At Spivak Law Firm, we ensure that every step of your expungement case is handled immediately to ensure that an already long process is not made even longer.
We offer a free consultation in all expungement matters. At no cost, we review the statewide criminal record database called United Judicial System to determine whether you are eligible for a full expungement, a partial expungement, or having your record sealed under the Pennsylvania Clean Slate Laws.
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh expungement attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
How To Expunge Your Criminal Record
There are three main steps for expunging your criminal record. First, we obtain a certified copy of your criminal record from the Pennsylvania State Police. Second, we file a formal petition to fully or partially expunge your criminal record with the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the incident occurred.
Third, if the petition is denied, we will appear in court for a hearing on why our petition to expunge should be granted. If the petition is granted after a hearing, or because there is no objection by the district attorney, then we provide you the order to expunge and follow up to ensure that the publicly accessible, statewide criminal record database removes all mention of the relevant criminal charges and convictions.
For a free consultation with an experienced expungement attorney, call (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Pittsburgh Expungement Hearings
In Pennsylvania, very few expungement cases involve a court hearing. If you are eligible for an expungement, you will likely be able to erase all or part of your criminal record without ever appearing before a judge.
An expungement is mostly a bureaucratic, administrative process. However, if a district attorney objects to your expungement petition, you may have an opportunity to explain to a judge why the expungement should be granted.
Spivak Law Firm offers a free consultation to review your criminal history and determine whether you are eligible for a full or partial expungement or record sealing. To learn more, call us today at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Full Expungements v. Partial Expungements
There are two types of expungements under Pennsylvania law: a full expungement and a partial expungement. A full expungement allows you to completely erase from public dockets all charges and convictions related to an arrest incident.
By contrast, a partial expungement allows you to erase from public dockets only one or some of the charges or convictions related to an arrest incident. For instance, if you were arrested and charged with aggravated assault and harassment, a partial expungement may enable you to erase the harassment charge only.
To speak with an experienced expungement attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Pennsylvania Clean Slate Laws
In recent years, Pennsylvania has expanded opportunities for people to shed the stigma of a criminal record that may deny them access to employment, housing and government benefits.
The Clean Slate Laws have established automatic expungements for criminal charges that were later withdrawn or dismissed. They also created new opportunities to seal from public view non-violent misdemeanor convictions.
The Clean Slate Laws save money for taxpayers by reducing criminal-justice costs and increasing tax revenues as more people get back to work. They also improve public safety by giving offenders a fresh start that enhances their prospects of finding employment and living crime-free lives.
To learn more about how the Pennsylvania Clean Slate Laws may benefit you, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Spivak Law Firm Advocates for Expungements
Spivak Law Firm was an early proponent for expanding relief to people with criminal records. Our article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette entitled Clean the Slate in Pennsylvania advocated the following statutory amendments for people seeking to erase their criminal records and move on with their lives:
- Automatically expunge criminal charges that are withdrawn or dismissed
- Restore voting rights for nonviolent felony convictions
- Reduce waiting periods to expunge low-level convictions
- Adopt ban-the-box policies that removes the conviction-history question on job applications
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh expungement attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Contact Our Pittsburgh Law Firm Today
Call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390. Our Pittsburgh office is open during normal business hours, as well as evenings and weekends by appointment.
Spivak Law Firm represents clients in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Washington County and Westmoreland County. We accept cases in Armstrong County, Clarion County, Crawford County, Fayette County, Greene County, Indiana County, Lawrence County, Mercer County, Somerset County and Venango County.