i want to know about getting a felony for a violent crime expunged
Question Details: i was convicted of a violent crime of which i did not do anyway i served 5 years on a twenty year bid. i have since gotten married have a baby and recently received my phd in human services i want to get a job and move on with my life but do not want this on my record for prospective employers to see how can i get it expunged
In Rhode Island, certain felony offenses may be expunged from your record if:
1) 10 years has passed since the expiration of your sentence. (meaning from the date your probation has ended if you have probation)
2) You have not been convicted, nor placed on probation, for any other misdemeanor or felony.
3) The crime for which you were convicted of is not a "violent crime" as defined by the expungement statute. Those crimes of violence are:
murder, manslaughter, first degree arson, kidnapping with intent to extort, robbery, larceny from the person, first degree sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, first and second degree child molestation, assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to commit first degree sexual assault, burglary, and entering a dwelling house with intent to commit murder, robbery, sexual assault, or larceny.
If you meet those requirements, you may be able to have your record expunged if you provide the judge evidence that you have been rehabilitated and have been of good behavior.
It sounds as though you will not be able to expunge your record since it is a crime of violence. For example, I represented a client before the RI Superior Court just last week and the State objected to my expungement motion because she argued the crime was one of a violent nature. I argued back that conspiracy to robbery was the judgment of conviction back in 1991 and my client's probation and suspended sentence was up in 1999 and now 10 years after the felony conviction he meets the statutory period and conspiracy does not fall within the definition of a violent crime as outlined in the statute and had the legislature intended conspiracy to be an act of violence it would have included it in its list of violent crimes. Since expungement are given at the judges discretion, he said he wanted a copy of the court files pulled from archives and for both parties to prepare for another hearing next month. All of this for a crime that is not on the violent crimes list.
