Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Can I have my record expunged under this law CPL 160.55

I had a misdemeanor assault charge

against me in 1997. I plead guilty,

did the community service and

probation, which have both been

satisfied. I applied for a job at

Lehman Bros before it went down in

2008, and was almost hired. The job

offer was rescinded at the last

minute. I later found out that my

probation was violated bcause I

missed a court date in 1998? And

that is why I was not hired, because

there was an outstanding bench

warrant from 1999 that I was

unaware of. This has since been

addressed and probation was officially

terminated. I'm recently thinking of

relocating to Canada, but find they

have very strict immigration/border

admission procedures regarding any

criminal history. In researching

remedys to enter Canada, I came

across a website

clearyourrecord dot com which

purports that any conviction

can be expunged or sealed. Is this

true or are there circumstances to

consider on an individual basis? The

ofense is from 1997. The community

service was completed in 1998 and

probation 'completed' in 2000. This is

the only time I have ever been

arrested or charged with a crime in

my life. I had just turned 30, I am

now 41.


Asked on 4/22/09, 2:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Matthew Schwartz Schwartz & Ponterio, PLLC

Re: Can I have my record expunged under this law CPL 160.55

It depends on the plea. If you pleaded to a violation, you can make an application under CPL � 160.55. If successful, the court will mark the file sealed and the matter should not appear on your record, but this needs to be confirmed as there are often oversights.

If you pleaded to a misdemeanor, there is also a procedure under CPL Section 440 to attempt to vacate a conviction. It is extremely difficult to prevail on such a motion, especially if the conviction arises from a guilty plea.

One ground commonly advanced on these motions is ineffective assistance of counsel but, again, this is very difficult to establish. These motions are often denied without even a hearing on the facts.

If you would like to discuss the matter further, please call me.

Read more
Answered on 4/23/09, 12:58 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in New York