Felony Expungements in Monmouth County

Monmouth County NJ Felony Expungements Lawyer

Being labeled as a convicted felon can play havoc on an anyone’s life. It can prevent someone from ever obtaining meaningful employment, obtaining certain professional licenses, owning a firearm, being accepted into their dream college or obtaining that big promotion. All too often our office receives phone calls from potential clients in a panic stating that they need to expunge something that happened twenty years ago off their record because it is preventing from receiving a promotion. The problem is that expungements are anything but quick, they take at least three to five months to perfect. That is why it is absolutely crucial that the minute that someone is eligible for an expungement in New Jersey that they take advantage of it. Expungement laws in New Jersey can become confusing at times. Not only are there certain waiting periods that must be satisfied first but there is also certain offenses where expungements are prohibited. That is why it is important to consult with an experienced Monmouth County expungement lawyer about your options.

The attorneys at the Keith Oliver Criminal Law help clients obtain an expungement of their felony criminal records in courts throughout New Jersey, including the Monmouth County Superior Court. We successfully helped clients erase heroin possession, aggravated assault, stalking, eluding, terroristic threats, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, possession of marijuana with the intent and cocaine possession charges from their record. Mr. Oliver, one of the firm’s founding partners actually taught a seminar at the New Jersey State Bar Association annual meeting in Atlantic City about the pitfalls of filing expungements in New Jersey. If you have a felony criminal record that you would like to expunge then please contact us at (732)858-6959. We can go over the paperwork and let you know whether or not you are eligible for an expungement. We serve all of Monmouth County, including towns like Middletown, Red Bank, Tinton Falls, Freehold, Belmar, Marlboro, Manalapan, Monmouth Beach, Asbury Park and Long Branch. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us and as always our initial consultations are free.

Can I Expunge my Felony in NJ?

All expungement in New Jersey are governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:52 and the specific section that deals with expunging felonies is N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2. As touched upon above, in order to expunge a felony certain guidelines must be followed. NJSA 2C:52-2 states in pertinent part that:

• A person has been convicted of a crime under the laws of this State and who has not been convicted of any prior or subsequent crime, whether within this State or any other jurisdiction, and has not been convicted of a disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense on more than two occasions may, after the expiration of a period of 10 years from the date of his most recent conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration for that crime or for any disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense, whichever is later, present an expungement application to the Superior Court in the county in which the conviction for the crime was adjudged…

In a more simplistic form, in order to expunge a felony criminal offense in New Jersey a Defendant must meet the following conditions:

• Defendant only has one felony conviction;
• Defendant must have less than three disorderly persons / petty disorderly persons offenses convictions; &
• At least ten years has passed since the Defendant successfully completed probation and/or parole. With that being said, there are a few exceptions to the waiting period and they are as follows:
  • A Defendant may petition the court for an expungement if less than ten years has passed from the satisfaction of the fine, but the ten-year time requirement is otherwise satisfied, and the court finds that the person substantially complied with any payment plan ordered; or
  • A Defendant may petition the court for an expungement if at least five years has expired from the date of his conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration, whichever is later; and the Defendant has not been convicted of any other crime, disorderly persons / petty disorderly persons offense since the time of the conviction; and the court finds in its discretion that expungement is in the public interest, giving due consideration to the nature of the offense, and the applicant’s character and conduct since conviction.

With that being said, there are certain offenses in New Jersey that the Courts will not allow you to expunge. They include not only the underlying offenses themselves but any conspiracy and attempts as well. Here is the list:

In addition, when it comes to possession of drugs with the intent to distribute and distribution of drugs there are special rules that apply. They are as follows:

1. If the drug in question is marijuana then the total quantity sold, distributed or possessed with intent to sell was 25 grams or less;
2. If the drug in question is Hashish, the total quantity sold, distributed or possessed with intent to sell must be five grams or less; or
3. For all other drugs, the conviction must be of the third or fourth degree and the court must find that the expungement is consistent with the public interest, giving due consideration to the nature of the offense and the petitioner’s character and conduct since conviction.

Expungement Lawyers in Freehold NJ

If you have been convicted of a felony criminal offense and would like to have it erased off your record, the Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Our Monmouth County criminal defense attorneys have been expunging individual’s criminal records for years now. If you would like to speak with one of our New Jersey expungement lawyers about your eligibility then please contact us at. We will give you our honest feedback and allow you to make the call whether or not you would like to petition the court for an expungement. As stated earlier, our initial consultations are free of costs, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (732)858-6959.