Expungements

People with qualifying arrests and convictions may petition the court of their sentencing county to expunge or seal their records. We can answer your questions regarding eligibility for expungement and sealing.

Sealing or Expunging Criminal Records

It is a common misconception that if a person is arrested and charged with a criminal offense, and the charge is later dismissed, there will be no record of the offense on the person’s record. As many individuals discover unexpectedly, this is not necessarily the case. When a person is detained by Kane County Law Enforcement, DuPage County Law Enforcement or other Chicagoland area law enforcement, regardless of the outcome of the case a record of the detention will be filed with the certain Sate and/or Federal governmental departments, even if the person never had to go to court. This detention record will show during any time in the future when that person is pulled over for even routine traffic stops. Having a criminal record may also make it difficult to obtain mortgages, business loans, student loans, and other grants because lenders tend to turn down applicants who have criminal records. Even in cases where formal charges were never formally made, it can be difficult for people who have previously been arrested to get a job, find a house, or enroll in higher education and may result in higher scrutiny when traveling out of the country whether at the airport or a customs or border check point.

In Illinois certain records can be removed from public access but removal never happens automatically. An eligible person must petition the court for records to be expunged or sealed. Without a petition the records are permanently public.

In evaluating a petition, a court must determine that the harm to a person with a record is greater than the harm to the public in taking away public access to the records. Once a judge has found in the petitioner’s favor, there are two types of orders possible, an order sealing the record or expunging the record.

Chicagoland Record Sealing Attorney

Considering how negatively a criminal record can impact a person’s life, luckily there are options available to people in these predicaments. Sealing a criminal record is a legal process by which a person’s record can be sealed and only law enforcement may view it. Others, such as the general public, may not. The court file is no longer available for public viewing and is not listed in public searches, but members of law enforcement with an appropriate need can access the files.

A Chicagoland area criminal defense lawyer from our firm can help you seal your record. Additionally, depending on the charge and length of time since arrest, if you have not had police involvement since an attorney with our firm may be able to seal your record even if there was a guilty verdict or if you accepted a plea agreement.

Criminal Defense attorneys at Motta & Motta will help you take the legal actions necessary to seal your criminal record, thereby preventing employers, banks, loan officers, schools, and public housing authorities from seeing information that would damage your chances of obtaining what you need from them.
Contact Chicagoland area Criminal Defense Attorneys at Motta & Motta today to find out how your can get your criminal record sealed!

Chicagoland Expungement Attorney

Expungement means the record is erased, as if it never existed. The arresting agency returns the records to the petitioner, including police reports, fingerprint cards, and booking photographs that were generated by the arrest. The circuit court clerk erases the records, both physical and electronic of the court activity. For all purposes the case never happened.

Expungement means that from a legal standpoint the case did not happen.

A Chicagoland area criminal defense lawyer from our firm can help you expunge your record. Additionally, depending on the charge and length of time since arrest, if you have not had police involvement since an attorney with our firm may be able to expunge your record even if there was a guilty verdict or if you accepted a plea agreement.

Criminal Defense attorneys at Motta & Motta will help you take the legal actions necessary to seal your criminal record, thereby preventing even law enforcement from viewing it or from using it against you in any future police encounters which may occur.
Contact Chicagoland area Criminal Defense Attorneys at Motta & Motta today to find out how your can get your criminal record expunged!

Contact the law offices of Motta & Motta, L.L.P. and an attorney will answer your questions. You can call or email us for a FREE case opinion.

Phone: 630.844.2766
Fax: 630.596.1689