Rhode Island expungement lawyer
This expungement law article concerning sealing dismissals was authored by a Rhode Island expungement lawyer. Wrongly accused defendants should expunge / seal all criminal offense dismissals and not guilty after trial verdicts in Rhode Island! All dismissals and not guilty verdicts in Rhode Island should be expunged! This includes both felony and criminal Misdemeanor dismissals in RI. All criminal records are bad records! Expungement is the process in which criminal records are either destroyed or sealed. Essentially an expungement erases criminal records for most purposes.
Rhode Island expungement lawyer
You cannot expunge a dismissal or not guilty finding without filing a motion and without a brief court hearing! People often ask: “If the case was dismissed why should I get it expunged?” The answer is simple. A dismissed or not guilty verdict stays on your record! A negative criminal record could affect your ability to find employment, obtain a promotion or may harm your reputation socially.
A not guilty finding occurs after a judge or jury determines that you are not guilty after a trial. Cases in which there was no information should also be expunged.
Dismissed records are visible to public
Nobody wants their friends, colleagues or others fishing around looking into old police reports and records when the case was dismissed. In Rhode Island all criminal records can be viewed by the general public at Courtconnect.courts.state.ri.us People tend to wrongly assume that if you were charged with a crime that you must be a bad apple. People assume that you must have been guilty, even if the case was dismissed! People assume that you must have ‘got off’ on a technicality.
Domestic records problematic
If it was a domestic case (such as domestic assault, domestic vandalism or domestic disorderly conduct) was dismissed then people often assume that the case was dismissed because the alleged victim, girlfriend or wife was too afraid to go forward or was financially dependent on the accused.It is rare that people assume that the case was dismissed because the suspect didn’t do anything, was wrongly accused or was actually innocent!
In this me too moment, the public has been conditioned to believe that all domestic charges are valid and if the case was dismissed it is part of a larger societal problem of domestic violence victims too embarrassed or afraid to go forward and testify.
Dismissals and not guilty findings can also effect how police perceive and treat an accused in the future. For example, if the police pull over your car they may be more likely to conduct a search if you have a criminal history even if those cases were dismissed. If another domestic incident / allegation occurs, you may be more likely to be arrested because of the negative implications of a dismissal. Potential spouses may review your criminal record before dating.
Another reason to expunge a dismissal is because if you are later convicted of a felony you may not be able to expunge the dismissal. A person with a felony conviction cannot have a not guilty finding or dismissal expunged. One year filings should also be expunged by a Rhode Island criminal lawyer at the end of the year. Dismissals that were never expunged can come back to haunt someone in a divorce, child custody or family law case. A spouse can seek to use the criminal record of dismissal to get an advantage in a divorce or child custody case in Family Court.
A dismissed charge cannot be sealed if you have a felony conviction on your record
For purposes of sealing a dismissal, a ‘felony conviction’ means a suspended sentence, fine, term of jail or home confinement.
Rhode Island Attorneys legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:
The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.