Indictable (Felony) Offenses in Mercer County

Felony Expungement Attorneys in NJ

Being a convicted felon in New Jersey can be difficult. It can make obtaining meaningful employment or maintaining professional license near impossible. If you have been found guilty or plead guilty to a felony offense like heroin possession, burglary, terroristic threats, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute or aggravated assault in Mercer County, we can help erase your record. New Jersey allows for certain indictable (felony) offenses to be expunged off your criminal history provided certain criteria are met. With that being said, the criteria can become confusing at times. If you or a loved one has been convicted of a felony in Mercer County and would like to see if they could have their record erased, the Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Our attorneys have been expunging clients records for almost a decade now. In fact, Mr. Oliver, one of the firm’s partners, recently presented a comprehensive lecture on expungements at the New Jersey State Bar Association, which is held every year in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The presentation highlighted not only the proper procedure for filing an expungement in New Jersey but also discussed some of the most frequent mistakes made when filing an expungement. If you would like to speak to Mr. Oliver or one of the other attorneys on staff at Keith Oliver Criminal Law, please contact our office at (609) 789-0779. We serve all of Mercer County, including towns like Hamilton, Princeton, Lawrence, Hightstown, West Windsor, East Windsor, Ewing, Robbinsville and Trenton. As always our initial consultations are free of costs to. Now here is some key information on expunging felony offenses in New Jersey, including what offenses are non expungeable.

Expunging Felony Lawyer in NJ

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2 is the governing statute in New Jersey when it comes to expunging indictable offenses. Felony offenses in New Jersey are referred to as indictable offense. As you will see below, there are certain requirements that must first be satisfied before a Defendant can successfully be expunge their felony record in New Jersey. NJSA 2C:52-2 states in pertinent part that

  • Wherein 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(s), 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, which contains a duly verified petition as provided in N.J.S. 2C:52-7 for the criminal conviction sought to be expunged, and may also contain additional duly verified petitions for no more than two convictions for any disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offenses, praying that the conviction, or convictions if applicable, and all records and information pertaining thereto be expunged.

So, in layman’s terms, a Defendant seeking to expunge a felony conviction:

  • Must have only one felony conviction;
  • Must have less than three disorderly persons offenses convictions; &
  • Must have satisfied the 10 year waiting period.
    • There are certain exceptions to the ten (10) year waiting period, which include:
      • If less than 10 years has expired from the satisfaction of a fine, but the ten-year time requirement is otherwise satisfied, and the court finds that the person substantially complied with any payment plan ordered.
      • 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; the person has not been convicted of a crime, disorderly persons offense, or 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.

In addition, the legislature has barred certain felony offenses from being expungeable in New Jersey, they include the following:

  1. NJSA 2C:11-1 – Criminal Homicide – except death by auto as specified in N.J.S. 2C:11-5;
  2. NJSA 2C:13-1 – Kidnapping;
  3. NJSA 2C:13-6 – Luring or Enticing;
  4. NJSA .2C:13-8 – Human Trafficking;
  5. NJSA 2C:14-2 – Sexual Assault or Aggravated Sexual Assault;
  6. NJSA. 2C:14-3 – Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact;
  7. NJSA 2C:14-3 – Criminal Sexual Contact;
  8. NJSA 2C:13-2 – Criminal Restraint;
  9. NJSA 2C:13-3 – False Imprisonment;
  10. NJSA 2C:15-1 – Robbery;
  11. NJSA 2C:17-1 – Arson and Related Offenses;
  12. NJSA 2C:24-4 – Endangering the welfare of a Child;
  13. NJSA 2C:24-4 – Photographing or filming a child in a prohibited sexual act;
  14. NJSA 2C:24-4 – Causing or permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sexual act;
  15. NJSA 2C:24-4 – Distributing Child Pornography;
  16. NJSA 2C:24-4 – Possessing Child Pornography;
  17. NJSA 2C:28-1 – Perjury;
  18. NJSA 2C:28-2 – False Swearing;
  19. NJSA 2C:34-1 – Knowingly promoting the prostitution of the actor’s child;
  20. NJSA 2C:38-2 – Terrorism;
  21. NJSA 2C:38-3 – Producing or Possessing Chemical Weapons.

In addition, if a Defendant has been convicted of or plead guilty to “the sale or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance or possession thereof with intent to sell, expungement shall be denied except where the crimes involve:

  1. Marijuana, where the total quantity sold, distributed or possessed with intent to sell was 25 grams or less;
  2. Hashish, where the total quantity sold, distributed or possessed with intent to sell was five grams or less; or
  3. Any controlled dangerous substance provided that the conviction is of the third or fourth degree, where the court finds that 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.

Can I Erase my Felony Conviction in NJ?

As you can see from reading above, there are a lot of various different rules and conditions that must be met before a Defendant can petition the courts to expunge their felony conviction. If you or a loved one has been convicted of a felony like eluding, stalking, receiving stolen property, theft by deception, heroin possession, resisting arrest or passing bad checks in Mercer County, we can help expunge your criminal record. Our office serves all of Mercer County, including towns like Hamilton, Trenton, Robbinsville, Lawrence, Princeton, Pennington, Ewing, East Windsor and Hopewell. If you would like to speak to one of our attorneys about your options then please contact us directly at (609) 789-0779. A felony criminal record can be absolutely devastating to your future, so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.