Sealing Criminal Record

A criminal conviction, even for the smallest case, can lead to difficulties and have repercussions on your life for years. A conviction can potentially impact school, a job, the ability to obtain a loan or mortgage and housing. In many cases, you are able to seal your criminal record even if you have been convicted by a jury or pled guilty to a crime.

Attorney Faigel is based in Andover and has 32 years of experience successfully sealing the criminal records for numerous clients. The waiting period in order to seal a criminal record is now shorter than it was in the past. For the most part, you will have to wait 3 years to seal a record for a misdemeanor, 7 years to seal a record for a felony and 15 years for eligible sex offenses. Sealing a record is not the same as erasing it (expungement). Massachusetts also allows for the petition to seal – non conviction records. Massachusetts state law does not, in general, allow for expungement, but does allow your criminal record to be sealed.

Generally, if your record is sealed, you are removing from general review the records pertaining to a court case. In many cases, a person with a sealed record gains the legal right to deny or not acknowledge anything to do with the arrest and the legal proceedings from the case itself. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 6, section 172 describes how comprehensive the sealing of your Massachusetts criminal record is. Once your Massachusetts criminal record is sealed, only law enforcement will continue to have access to your sealed record.

In Massachusetts, a number of court proceedings will not appear on your criminal record. For example, a restraining order will not appear. Neither will a DCF report of neglect or abuse. In general, juvenile records will not be found on your criminal record unless you were tried as an adult.

When your record is sealed it means that it cannot be accessed by normal means. Those considering you for employment or who you are petitioning for a loan cannot look into those records during your background check. Furthermore, you can generally legally deny that the events on your record ever existed.

Many individuals, and some attorneys, are not aware of the adverse consequences of not sealing a record properly. Attorney Faigel has been successful in sealing his clients records for decades. Prior to filing the appropriate documents with the court or appropriate governmental agency, Attorney Faigel will obtain and review your court records in order to ensure that all appropriate convictions will be sealed.

If you have a criminal record and would like to seal your record, please contact Attorney Neil F. Faigel as soon as possible. Attorney Faigel has had considerable success sealing individual’s criminal records. It is imperative that you have a seasoned and experienced defense attorney to advise you as to how to seal your criminal record. Contact Attorney Faigel for a free consultation right away. He will ensure that you receive the best possible legal representation.