I WAS IN A PROBLEM FOR RETAIL THEFT AND I WANT TO KNOW WHEN IT GET EXPUNGED WILL THE FINGER PRINT ES AND PICS GET EXPUNGED TO
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I WAS IN A PROBLEM FOR RETAIL THEFT AND I WANT TO KNOW WHEN IT GET EXPUNGED WILL THE FINGER PRINT ES AND PICS GET EXPUNGED TO
Asked on June 17, 2009 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.S., Member, Connecticut Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
There is a difference between a case no longer being part of the public record as opposed to all traces of the matter being erased from any record, either public or private. In Connecticut, where I practice, a variety of dispositions will result in the case no longer appearing in the public record (i.e., not guilty verdicts, nolles, dismissals, etc.). This means that the record will not be available to the public for the purposes of background checks or other reasons. However, this does not mean that the police and/or prosecutor will cease to maintain a private record of the matter. If your case has, in fact, been dismissed, in Connecticut you can write a letter to the arresting police department 21 days after the dismissal to get the fingerprints/mugshots removed from your file. You may wish to try this if your case has been dismissed.
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
I'm not a Pennsylvania attorney, but my research suggests that expungement of an arrest record is possible if you were not convicted, after a not guilty verdict or the charges were dropped, successfully completing a pretrial diversion plan, or 18 months after the arrest with no disposition and the court certifies that there are no pending charges. It has to be done by an application to the Court of Common Pleas, it isn't automatic.
Convictions can't be expunged for living persons unless they are 70 years old and have been arrest-free for 10 years after the conviction and sentence served.
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