The Facts about Court Records

If you have been charged with a criminal offense in the state of Washington, you need to be aware of the serious ramifications that a conviction can have on the rest of your life. Regardless of whether a person is convicted of a criminal offense, or simply arrested and/or charged with a matter that is ultimately dismissed, the courts and various law enforcement agenices will still maintain a record of what transpired. A court record will typically include any documents or info pertaining to the case, and is maintained by the clerk of the court in question.

A criminal record can leave a negative mark on your future that will affect your opportunities for housing, work, obtaining a driver's license, applying for state or federal student loans, becoming a U.S. citizen, and more. In fact, many companies even refrain from hiring convicts and those with previous criminal records because they want to provide a safe working environment for their existing employees. Employers can also be charged with negligent recruitment for hiring convicts, and there are other obstacles that keep people from hiring those with criminal records as well.

For example, you may have a difficult time obtaining a job in an organization that requires security clearances if you have a criminal record. Banks, financial institutions, schools, or other jobs involving children always run a background check on future employees to check for criminal records, and it is never wise to be dishonest about your criminal record. If you have been convicted of a felony crime, you may be unable to serve on a jury, vote or hold elective office. Being turned down for a job because a background check revealed a charge in records maintained by the Washington State Patrol even though the matter was dismissed, or revealed a conviction that was eligible to be wiped away from a person's record, is an unfortunate and possibly unnecessary outcome.

In addition to affecting your future career, a criminal record can also affect your ability to travel outside of the United States because most visa applications ask about any criminal convictions. Some countries deny anyone who has a prior conviction, but other countries choose to deny entry only to those convicted of specific crimes. Regardless of whether you are looking to travel in the future or not, taking the steps to expunge your criminal record is beneficial to your future in every way.

A court record can potentially be sealed or permanently destroyed depending on the seriousness of the offense and the type of court in which the case was filed. If a court orders its records sealed, the case is treated as if it never actually existed. Similarly, if a person previously convicted of a crime has that convicted vacated, the person may state for all intents and purposes that they were never actualyl convicted of the offense. Persons seeking to have a conviction vacated, or a record seal, or non-conviction data deleted may often ask the court to expunge their record. Expungement is a term of art that, while commonly used on television, does not actual exist in Washington law.

In order to have the best chance at cleaning up your record and letting your past stay in the past, call and speak to a knowledgeable Seattle criminal defense attorney at Baker, Lewis, Schwisow & Laws. There are certain circumstances that must be present in order to remove a criminal charge from a person's record, and our firm's skilled lawyers can walk you through the process and help you determine if you qualify. Call now and we would be more than happy to help you.