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CAN I EVER GET MY MISDEMEANOR OR FELONY CONVICTIONS SEALED?

No. New York law does not allow misdemeanor or felony convictions to be sealed.  However, there are other alternatives that you can pursue. CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES AND CERTIFICATE OF GOOD CONDUCT

CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES AND CERTIFICATE OF GOOD CONDUCT IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO ABOUT MY CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS?  

            If you have a misdemeanor or felony conviction, it cannot be sealed, but you can apply for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities or a Certificate of Good Conduct. Such certificates restore some of the rights you may have lost as a result of your conviction (such as the right to serve on a jury) and can help when you are looking for work or applying for a license. If you have a certificate when you apply for a job or an occupational license, the employer or licensing agency must assume that you are “rehabilitated.” This means that you should not be rejected for employment or refused a license just because of your conviction, unless your conviction has a direct bearing on your ability to perform the job.

            The certificates are useful because New York has a number of laws that otherwise bar persons who have been convicted of certain crimes from working in particular jobs or getting certain licenses. The most common of these laws automatically bar people with felony convictions, but some laws also bar people with certain kinds of misdemeanor convictions. These certificates, in most cases, remove what are called “statutory bars” to employment or occupational licenses. This means that, instead of automatically being disqualified for a particular job or license because of your conviction(s), you have the right to be considered for the position on an individual basis.

            Having a certificate does not completely protect you from being denied a job or license because of your criminal record. A certificate is not a pardon; it does not erase the record of your conviction. You still must list your convictions on job applications that ask for them. And employers will still see your convictions if they ask for your rap sheet when you apply for a job. Although an employer must take your certificate into account in deciding whether to hire you, the law still permits an employer or licensing agency to refuse to hire or license you if your convictions are “job-related”.

WHICH CERTIFICATE MIGHT BE RIGHT FOR YOU?

            A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities if you have been convicted of any number of misdemeanors but no more than one felony. That is, you can apply for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities if you have no felony conviction at all but you have one or more misdemeanor convictions, or if you have one felony conviction, with or without any misdemeanor convictions. In counting your felony convictions, you must include all your convictions, even if they were for federal or out-of-state charges. But do not count any cases in which you were tried as a juvenile delinquent or youthful offender.

            A separate Certificate of Relief from Disabilities for each misdemeanor or felony conviction. You can get Certificates of Relief from Disabilities for all your convictions, even for those that occurred out of state or in federal court. You can get a temporary Certificate of Relief from Disabilities even while you are on probation or parole. A temporary Certificate of Relief from Disabilities automatically becomes permanent after a specified date unless the issuing court or the parole board has revoked it.

            You can apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct if you were convicted of two or more felonies and any number of misdemeanors. You need only apply for one Certificate of Good Conduct, which will cover all your felony and misdemeanor convictions. However, there is a waiting period, and your application for a Certificate of Good Conduct will be considered only if a sufficient period of time has passed since your last conviction. If the most serious conviction in your criminal history was for a “C,” “D,” or “E” felony, you must wait at least three years from the date of your last conviction, payment of fine, or release from prison onto parole supervision, whichever is later. You will have to wait at least five years from your last conviction, payment of fine, or release from prison onto parole supervision if your most serious conviction was for an “A” or “B” felony. If you were sentenced to probation, the waiting period begins at the time of sentencing. This waiting period is mandatory; no exceptions are made.

NY CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES AND CERTIFICATE OF GOOD CONDUCT are handled on a FLAT FEE BASIS (All inclusive), which makes the process cost effective and expeditious.

Payment Plans Available

HOW TO GET THE PROCESS STARTED?

All you need to do is CALL or E-Mail my firm, so we can send you a NY Sealing Package that contains an Intake form and Retainer agreement.