Our Lehigh Valley Expungement Attorneys have successfully achieved Pardons, Expungements & Limited Access Expungements for hundreds of clients who can now move forwards without the stigma of a criminal record. Hopefully your criminal defense attorney discussed expungements with you at the time of your conviction. If not, our Easton Expungement Lawyers may still be able to help.
Pardons & Expungements can remove convictions from a criminal record, as if they never happened. Any criminal conviction is eligible to be pardoned but the likelihood of that pardon being granted is often low. Whereas only very limited criminal convictions are eligible to be expunged but the likelihood of achieving an expungement of an eligible criminal record is much higher in the Lehigh Valley.
Pardons are at the sole discretion of the governor but the governor has the power to pardon anyone, for any crime, even if they are still serving a sentence. A governor’s pardon is not subject to any oversight by the Northampton & Lehigh County Courts.
On the other hand, Expungements are overseen by the Lehigh Valley court system and, in many cases, an expungement may be summarily granted due to the passage of time or other certain conditions being met.
Outside of both Pardons and Traditional Expungements are Limited Access Expungements. Limited Access expungements are not a true destruction of criminal records but rather a way of hiding the records from the public eye. The majority of non-violent misdemeanors may be eligible for a Limited Access Expungement after a certain amount of time.
Unfortunately criminal records can be detrimental to obtaining employment as well as advancing past a certain promotional level.
Many professional and occupational licensing agencies will not issue licenses to individuals convicted of certain crimes. Obtaining a Pardon or Expungement can open doors that would otherwise remained closed to an individual.
Expunging a criminal record can pay for itself over time. Contact our Expungement Experts in Easton for help.
Certain convictions prohibit individuals from buying, possessing or carrying firearms. Additionally although Pennsylvania does not prohibited citizens with criminal records from voting, other states may not allow citizens to vote based upon their Pennsylvania convictions. We have helped numerous individuals restore their firearm rights and voting rights via Pardons & Expungements.
In many case you may be able to apply for both. The Pardon process, until recently was a 2-3 year process but has recently been streamlined to take less than a year due to the efforts of Governor Wolf and Lt. Governor Federmann. Nonetheless, expungement will be the best course for most people unless the have serious misdemeanor of felony convictions.
While the Governor has the final say in any pardon, the Governor’s Office has set up a panel of representatives to determine which cases reach his or her desk. The panel consists of:
The Lieutenant Governor
A Representative from the Attorney General’s Office
A Crime Victim’s Advocate
A Corrections Expert
A Psychiatrist or Psychologist
While the Pardon Process can take quite some time, there is a standard process which is followed:
