HOW LONG DOES THE EXPUNGEMENT PROCESS TYPICALLY TAKE?
The expungement process generally takes 8 to 12 weeks. Sometimes you can get it done faster in some municipal courts; but if it’s in a district court, 8 to 12 weeks are standard.
What Are The Remedies Available To Someone Who Is Not Eligible For An Expungement?Any remedies would depend on why you’re not eligible. If you’re ineligible because you haven’t waited the statutory period of time, then it’s an easy fix: you just wait a little bit longer. If you are ineligible for another reason, there is nothing that says you can’t file it again. For example, if you go in front of the judge, and the judge says, “No, I don’t think that it’s in the interest of justice at this time for you to get the record expunged,” you can go in court the very next day and file the petition again.
Most of the time, you want to wait a little bit of time just to correct whatever insufficiencies the judge listed as to why the petition wasn’t granted. But you can re-file it again and again until it’s finally granted. If you are trying to expunge something that was on the list of crimes that are unexpungable, you are almost always going to want to hire a lawyer to sit down with you and specifically hear all the reasons why you want to get it expunged and try to find a legal mechanism to do so.
What Will Someone’s Record Look Like After They Have Had A Successful Expungement?There shouldn’t be anything to look at because the record is literally taken out of the file. It is taken off the KBI’s website. There shouldn’t be a record to look at if it’s done correctly.
Why Should Someone Hire An Experienced Attorney For Their Expungement?It’s always better to hire somebody that does this for a living that can help. It doesn’t have to be just drafting the paperwork and knowing what and what not to put in the petition. You are also getting the person’s experience in dealing with that judge, that prosecutor or the opposition and how best to present the evidence in front of the judge so that the judge sees you in the most favorable light.
For example, if you are trying to get your firearm rights restored, depending on the facts of the case, that might not be possible even though that is the reason that you are trying to get an expungement; this may cause the judge to take a less favorable view on your petition rather than if your lawyer highlights the other reasons that you might be trying to get the expungement, either due to lack of employment opportunities or lack of finding a place that you want to live because of the record’s negative effect.
You are buying a lot, when you hire a lawyer to do an expungement, far more than just words on a piece of paper.