Allegheny County Expungement Lawyer
Expunging Summary Offenses
A criminal record may hurt your educational and employment opportunities, especially if you’re seeking jobs that require a criminal background check. Expungement refers to the removal of an arrest or conviction from your permanent criminal record.
Under Pennsylvania law, a conviction for a summary offense may be expunged after five years. If you were convicted of a summary offense more than five years ago, it may be possible to remove the conviction from your criminal record so that you can move on with your life.
At Spivak Law Firm, we routinely represent people charged with summary offenses and get their criminal records erased. To schedule a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Erase Your Criminal Record
If you want to clean your criminal record for an upcoming employment, education, or housing opportunity, you should begin the process as soon as possible.
Spivak Law Firm routinely helps people erase their criminal records through a formal expungement process. What surprises many clients is how long the expungement process takes: about a year from start to finish.
At Spivak Law Firm, we move your case forward as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary delay, and we update you at each step along the way.
Spivak Law Firm expunges criminal records for a low, one-time fee. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Expunging Your Criminal Record
In the United States, only those who are convicted of the most serious crimes get life sentences. But everyone who enters the criminal justice system can be marked for life.
Even a minor interaction with the justice system can leave someone with a criminal record and a permanent barrier to a job, education or an occupational license.
Having a record can also affect housing, as federal housing law grants local authorities wide discretion, and many use it to keep people with a single arrest out of public housing.
At Spivak Law Firm, we aim to clear the arrests from your criminal record so you can move on with your life. For more information, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
New Pennsylvania Record-Sealing Law
Pennsylvania recently passed a law that seals minor criminal records. Supporters of the legislation hope it will reduce recidivism and open doors for those who have turned their lives around.
Under the legislation, people with sealed records would not have to disclose their criminal histories. Removing this barrier allows more Pennsylvanians to live without the stigma of a criminal record.
The new law, which applies in limited cases, for the first time allows Pennsylvanians to seal convictions for misdemeanor-level offenses.
At Spivak Law Firm, we aim to clear the arrests from your criminal record so you can move on with your life. For more information, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Expungements in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, your criminal record may be expunged if you meet certain criteria. An expungement can help you avoid the stigma associated with having a criminal record.
A criminal record can hurt your future by:
- Costing you a job opportunity;
- Denying you a bank or government loan
- Disqualifying you from receiving a professional license; and
- Restricting your ability to join certain organizations
At Spivak Law Firm, we aim to erase your criminal record so you can move on with your life. For more information, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Costs of a Criminal Record
While less serious than a felony charge, misdemeanors and summary offenses carry stigmas strong enough to cause problems beyond fines and inconvenience. If uncovered, they can cause potential school and job recruiters to look in other directions.
Programs across the country have been initiated to give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to dodge that bullet. In Chicago, for instance, a program provides qualified offenders the opportunity to keep a charge from being permanently entered on their record and to avoid the accompanying stigma.
In Pennsylvania, people may be eligible to have their criminal records expunged or sealed.
At Spivak Law Firm, we aim to clear the arrests from your criminal record so you can move on with your life. For more information, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Criminal Records and Employers
When applying for a job, you are required to inform your employer of any misdemeanor of felony convictions. But you don’t have to disclose convictions for summary offenses. And you don’t have to tell your employer about criminal charges against you that were withdrawn or dismissed.
If you weren’t convicted, you may think that you have nothing to worry about. But employers can access your criminal record simply by using your name and date of birth. Even withdrawn or dismissed charges have the potential to negatively affect employment opportunities. Employers will likely wonder why the police brought charges against you in the first place.
If you were charged with a crime, and the charges against you were later withdrawn or dismissed, we can help you erase the incidents from your criminal record.
At Spivak Law Firm, we expunge criminal records for a low, one-time fee. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Clean Your Criminal Record
Under existing Pennsylvania law, only summary convictions may be removed from your criminal record. Under a new law, you may also petition the court to limit access to second and third degree misdemeanor convictions.
Misdemeanors in the second and third degree include offenses such as:
- Criminal trespassing;
- Vandalism;
- Recklessly Endangering Another Person; and
- Indecent Assault.
Under the new record-sealing law you may be eligible to conceal your record from public view if you maintained a clean criminal record for ten years following your conviction.
At Spivak Law Firm, we erase and seal criminal records for a low, one-time fee. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Expand Expungements In Pennsylvania
A criminal record can ruin your job opportunities. In Pennsylvania, convictions for misdemeanors and felonies will stay on your record for life – even for people who go decades without ever re-offending.
But that might change.
Currently the Pennsylvania Legislature is considering proposals to expand expungements to misdemeanors after a period of good behavior.
Some proposals offer expungements after a period of seven years of freedom from arrest or prosecution for third-degree misdemeanors. Other proposals offer expungements to individuls under 25-years-old for second-degree misdemeanors after ten years free of arrest or prosecution.
Spivak Law Firm understands the importance of a clean criminal record. To speak with an experienced expungement lawyer, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Expungement Necessary Even If Case Dismissed
Many people make the mistake of thinking that their records will automatically be wiped clean if their criminal charges are dismissed or withdrawn. This is not true.
Even if your charges are thrown out, you still need to go through the expungement process to erase them from your criminal background. This may be especially important if the nature of the charge itself causes embarrassment (e.g., prostitution, domestic abuse) or leads another to question your trustworthiness (e.g., forgery, theft).
At Spivak Law Firm, we expunge criminal records for a low, one-time fee. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.