
Having a criminal record can limit your life in many ways, including making it difficult for you to find housing, get into college, and get or keep many jobs. A criminal record can also make you ineligible for federal benefits, including federal student financial aid. Conviction of some crimes can also keep you from being able to legally possess a firearm or enlist in the armed forces.
Many people have a criminal record, and face those limitations, because of a youthful mistake or a momentary lapse of judgment. But what if there were a way to remove your criminal record? It’s not magic—and it’s not always possible—but under some circumstances, you can remove information about arrests and convictions from your New Hampshire criminal record through a process called “annulment.” Annulment is also called “expungement” in many states.
A criminal record contains a lot of information. In addition to basic information about you such as your name, address, birthdate, and place of birth, your criminal record lists other identifying information like hair color, eye color, height, weight, and the presence of any scars, tattoos or other markings.
And, of course, your criminal record lists details of your criminal history, such as:
If you have a criminal record and are considering seeking an annulment, make sure you have an up-to-date copy of your record so that you will be able to request an annulment of all convictions that should be removed.
You or your attorney can request a copy of your criminal record from the New Hampshire State Police Criminal Record Unit by filing a Criminal Record Release Authorization Form. There is a $25.00 fee to obtain your record. Once you have your record in hand, you can complete and file a form with the court in which you were convicted.
At this point, the matter is sent to the Department of Corrections for an investigation to be sure you are eligible and have satisfied the necessary waiting period—more on that below. There is a separate fee for this investigation. The DOC will also require you to fill out a questionnaire, and your annulment will not move forward unless you do. There is often no hearing requirement for a NH criminal record annulment, but there may be if the DOC or the prosecutor disagrees with your request.
What if you were convicted of multiple charges, or in multiple courts? Unfortunately, you have to file a separate petition for each conviction, and there is a filing fee that goes along with each one. If you have multiple convictions, or convictions in multiple courts, it can get expensive—and confusing. The timeframe for an annulment of criminal record may range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the situation and the charge. You will receive the decision on your petition in writing through the mail.
Annulment of a criminal record is discretionary, which means the judge is not required to grant one if he or she thinks doing so is not in your best interest or that of the public. An experienced criminal defense attorney can present evidence that may persuade the judge to exercise that discretion in your favor.
There are different waiting periods to have arrests or convictions of different crimes annulled, and they don’t always make sense. In general, the less serious a crime, the shorter the period you have to wait for annulment of the crime from your record. So, to expunge a “violation,” you may need to wait only a year from the later of the date of conviction, completion of the sentence, or release from supervision. For a misdemeanor, the waiting period is often three years, but may range from two to five years, and for a felony, you may have to wait six years or more. But there are exceptions.
For instance, if a motor vehicle offense, even something as simple and common as a speeding ticket, can be used as the basis for “habitual offender” status, it can’t be annulled for seven years. Some driving offenses, including some DUIs, have a 10 year waiting period. That means that, conceivably, a driving offense could remain on your record longer than certain felonies.
With all these variables, it may be tempting to petition for annulment of all offenses and see what gets granted, but that’s a bad idea. If you file for annulment of an offense before the required waiting period is up, not only will your request be denied, you will lose the opportunity to petition within a specified period.
In short, there are a lot of moving parts to requesting a NH criminal record annulment; filling out the actual petition to request an expungement is probably the least complicated part of the process. If clearing your criminal record is important to you, it’s best to consult a criminal defense attorney with extensive experience in annulment of NH criminal records.
The good news is that if you are successful in annulling a conviction, anyone who searches for that conviction won’t find it; there will simply be no record of it available. The bad news is that not everything on your criminal record may be able to be expunged.
Annulment of NH criminal records is available to avoid needlessly punishing people for past acts that don’t pose a threat to the public safety, but nobody has an automatic right to have a criminal record annulment. Some convictions simply cannot be removed, such as those for serious violent crimes, felony obstruction of justice, or convictions for crimes with aggravating circumstances with extended terms of imprisonment.
NH criminal record annulment is also only available for NH crimes. That means that a judge in New Hampshire cannot expunge a conviction or arrest from another state, or a conviction from a federal court or military tribunal.
An experienced attorney can help at all phases of the criminal record annulment process. They can obtain your criminal record so that you can see what needs to be expunged, and help you determine if you need to try to remove all items on your criminal record. Your attorney can determine whether or not you are eligible to petition for annulment of all arrests and convictions, and ensure that your petition is complete, accurate, and timely filed with the appropriate court or courts.
If a hearing on your petition is necessary, your attorney will gather and assemble evidence and present it to the court to persuade the judge to rule in your favor. In some cases, your attorney may be able to negotiate on your behalf with the prosecutor to avoid the need for a hearing. Lastly, in the event your annulment request is denied, your attorney may be able to help you appeal the decision.
To learn more about criminal record annulment in New Hampshire or to get help clearing your record, contact Beaton & Kiers to schedule a consultation.
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