Erase Your Criminal Conviction

People make mistakes, but that one mistake should not haunt them for the rest of their lives. Under a little known or talked about Michigan law, someone with a criminal conviction (with some exceptions) can seal or expunge their record after a certain period of time. After a successful expungement, you may legally state that you have no criminal history on an employment application, housing/rental application, or professional license requests.

Under Michigan law, you can set aside most misdemeanors and even most felonies, with some exceptions of drunken driving, traffic offenses, capital offenses and criminal sexual conduct crimes. In order to qualify, the time elapsed must have been at least five (5) years from your release from jail/prison, parole or probation, whichever is later. The law requires a hearing in the court that handled the original conviction, and victims, if any, have the opportunity to respond.

In this day and age, when employers routinely conduct extensive background checks before, or even after, hiring someone, it is important to make sure you are not at a disadvantage compared with the pool of applicants. Further, given the ease of access to public information through the Internet, having a clean record has become even more important.

I have assisted others with cleaning up their records. If you think you may benefit from this service, or know of anyone that may, please feel free to contact me for a confidential evaluation of your particular situation and I can tell you whether you qualify to have your criminal conviction expunged.

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This publication is for general information only and is not intended as formal legal advice. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Curtis & Curtis, P.C.

Curtis & Curtis, P.C. is a full service law firm located in Jackson, Michigan providing superior legal services and advice to individuals, families and businesses throughout mid-Michigan since 1901.