Pgh Criminal Defense Lawyer
Expungements: What Gets Erased?
A criminal record expungement erases all proof of arrest, charges, convictions, and hearings from the public record. But will an expungement necessarily lead to the destruction of all information related to your criminal history? Unfortunately, no.
Under Pennsylvania law, the following types of information continue to be maintained by criminal justice agencies even after an expungement order is granted:
-Intelligence information
-Investigative information
-Missing persons information
-Wanted persons information
-Stolen property information
-Medical treatment information
-Psychiatric treatment information
To learn more about the criminal expungement process, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Hearings: No Right To Jury Trial
If you’ve been served with a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order, we urge you to take it seriously. A PFA can take away your home, your job, your children, and even your liberty. A PFA can destroy your reputation and stigmatize you as an abusive person for the rest of your life.
A PFA is a civil matter determined by judges in family court. There is no right to a jury trial at a PFA hearing because it’s not a criminal matter, though a PFA can quickly and easily result in criminal charges if you’re merely accused of violating the order.
Under Pennsylvania law, there is no right to a jury trial except in criminal cases whereby conviction could lead to a jail sentence exceeding six months. The maximum penalty for violating a PFA is six months and a $1,000 fine.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong representation at PFA hearings. Based in Pittsburgh, we represent clients in Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Indiana County, Mercer County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.
To schedule a free consultation with an experienced PFA attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Expungement Process
Maintaining a clean criminal record is crucial to obtaining housing, employment, or educational opportunities.
If you have a criminal record, you may be eligible to clear it if criminal charges against you were withdrawn or dismissed or five years have passed following conviction of a summary offense. This process is known as an expungement.
If you have charges or convictions eligible for expungement, the first step is requesting a criminal background check with the Pennsylvania State Police. Next, you file an expungement petition with the county where the incident took place. You must file separate petitions for each arrest incident.
If there is no objection by the district attorney, the petition is granted without a formal court hearing. The court then sends approval to your attorney. The court also notifies state police and other criminal justice agencies that will then clear your public criminal record.
Spivak Law Firm routinely handles expungement matters for a low, one-time fee, and keeps you updated at each stage of the case.
To speak with an experienced expungement attorney, call (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA: Financial Abuse
In many domestic violence cases, financial abuse is what keeps a woman trapped in the abusive relationship. Even if these women are able to leave the relationship, their finances may remain in jeopardy.
A new startup company, FreeFrom, pilots entrepreneurship programs for domestic violence survivors. Many of the women enrolled in the program come in with small-business ideas and the organization helps identify what these women are good at and how they can turn it into an opportunity.
By helping survivors start businesses, they can earn their own incomes and achieve financial stability independent of a partner. Program participants can meet with FreeFrom’s team once a week for up to 90 minutes and the free service runs for a six-month period.
Spivak Law Firm provides aggressive representation for plaintiffs and defendants in domestic violence cases, including Protection From Abuse (PFA), Children Youth and Families (CYF), and criminal domestic violence. To schedule a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Clean Your Criminal Record
In Pennsylvania, the old expungement law only allowed summary convictions to be erased from your criminal record. Fortunately, that has changed, as Pennsylvania recently expanded the laws for people to erase or conceal their criminal records from employers so they can move on with their lives.
In many cases, people convicted of second- and third-degree misdemeanors will be permitted to request a court order limiting public access to their criminal records. You may be eligible if you have been free of arrest and/or conviction for the past ten years, and if you fulfilled all requirements in your sentences.
Spivak Law Firm routinely helps people clean their criminal records for employment reasons and to preserve their reputations. Call us for a free consultation at: (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Law Restricts Guns
Spivak Law Firm has represented many people who cherish the Constitutional right to own guns. Some are hunters. Some are police officers and other law-enforcement officials whose livelihoods depend on the ability to carry a firearm.
In Pennsylvania, the Protection From Abuse (PFA) law has been changed to restrict gun ownership against people accused of domestic abuse.
For the first time, a person subject to a Final PFA order will be required to give up his or her guns to police within 24 hours. The law applies even in cases of alleged stalking and harassment where a firearm was not involved.
The law is controversial because the burden of proof for obtaining a Final PFA order is far lower than for obtaining a criminal conviction. In fact, many people subject to Final PFA orders are never even charged with a crime.
If you’ve been served with a PFA, call Spivak Law Firm for a free consultation at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Hearings: Burden Of Proof
We’ve all heard the phrase “burden of proof.” What does it mean?
Burden of proof refers to how convincing the evidence must be to obtain a criminal conviction or Protection From Abuse (PFA) order.
In criminal court, the burden of proof is very high: beyond a reasonable doubt. This means the judge or jury must be 99 percent certain that the defendant committed the crime in order to convict.
In PFA court, the burden of proof is much lower: preponderance of the evidence. This means the judge must be just 51 percent certain that the alleged abuser acted in a way that warrants a Final PFA order.
It is much easier to get a Final Order than a criminal conviction because the burden of proof is so much lower.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive defense at all PFA and criminal domestic-violence hearings. We routinely handle PFAs and PFA violations, as well as criminal domestic-violence charges such as simple assault, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, harassment, stalking, recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of children, child abuse, and aggravated assault.
To schedule a free consultation with an experienced defense attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Law: What Is Abuse?
Under Pennsylvania Law, the term “abuse” is defined broadly when determining whether to grant a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order. It does not merely include physical violence.
There are many forms of alleged “abuse” that could justify a PFA, including:
-Physical violence
-Threats of physical violence
-Sexual violence
-Threats of sexual violence
-Stalking
-False imprisonment
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive defense at PFA hearings. We routinely take cases in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Indiana County, Mercer County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.
To speak with an experienced PFA attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFAs and Firearms
If you’ve been served with a Temporary PFA or if a Final PFA was entered in your case, you may have just 24 hours to surrender your guns, weapons, ammunition, and firearms license to your local sheriff’s office.
Ignoring a court order to relinquish your guns could result in up to 10 years imprisonment under federal law.
In some cases, PFA defendants could instead give their guns to a friend or family member for safekeeping, so long as the third party signed an Affidavit of Accountability with the sheriff’s office and underwent a criminal background check.
But a new Pennsylvania law prohibits the third-party safekeeping option for gun owners accused of domestic abuse.
Spivak Law Firm advises PFA defendants on how to protect their Second Amendment right to possess firearms. We provide strong, aggressive representation at PFA hearings. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Conceal Your Criminal Record
Limited access orders are Pennsylvania’s newest form of relief for people seeking to conceal their criminal records from future employers.
The order prevents any non-criminal justice agency from accessing your criminal record.
Under Pennsylvania law, a limited access order will shield from potential employers criminal history record information for people convicted of a second- or third-degree misdemeanor, or an ungraded misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of no more than two years, so long as you have been free of arrest or prosecution for a period of 10 years.
At Spivak Law Firm, we help people seal or even erase their criminal records so they can move on with their lives.
For a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.