Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

petit larcency

when a person was found guilty of petit larceny and a first offender in 2001, can court and police records be expunged after a certainn amount of time or do they become a permanent record for the rest of the persons life and prohibit them from employment and passing background checks?


Asked on 5/05/06, 7:03 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: petit larcency

There's no expungement in Va. A theft conviction anywhere means you won't be employable in many types of work..

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Answered on 5/05/06, 8:16 pm
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: petit larcency

If you were found guilty of a petty larceny offense and were a first time offender, you should have been eligible for what is known in Virginia criminal jurisprudence as an SIS(Suspended Imposition of Sentence).

If in fact this is the disposition of the charge which you actually received, then in fact you have no record of any conviction(assuming that you successfully completed all of the requirements of your 12 month probationary period)and, therefore, can truthfully swear on any application(for whatever) or before any tribunal that you have not in fact been convicted of that particular offense.

Your case after 12 months should have been noted in the court file as closed with no conviction. (Again, this presupposes that you had complied with all of the conditions of your probation.)

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Answered on 5/05/06, 11:01 pm


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