A NEW PROCEDURE
New York has enacted a law that allows qualifying residents to leave their past behind them. This relief has come in the form of Criminal Procedure Law 160.59. Those who have been previously convicted of certain crimes now have the chance to seal their criminal records as long as they meet the outlined criteria.
When a criminal record is sealed it is not available to the public. That means the conviction still exists, but it will not be reported as part of a background check for the purposes of employment, housing, education and other important purposes.
The judge who sentenced you on your most serious offense makes the decision of your application. However, the District Attorney can object to your sealing, and a hearing will be conducted to make a determination.
The law permits two (2) eligible offenses to be sealed, but not more than one eligible felony offense.
10 years must have passed since the imposition of the sentence on the most recent conviction, and the applicant can’t have any criminal convictions within the preceding ten (10) years.
You can have no more than 2 criminal convictions.
You are not eligible if more than one of your criminal convictions is a felony.
Let Us Help You Seal Your Record
We will guide you though the process step-by-step. We will evaluate your eligibility by ordering a copy of your criminal record and reviewing it to determine eligibility.
We will order all Certificates of Disposition from each county
in which you have a conviction.
We will hand deliver each motion and communicate with
each District Attorney’s office to ensure your case is being reviewed properly.
We will carefully draft a Notice of Motion and Affidavit in
Support of Sealing.
Should your application require a hearing we will appear and advocate on your behalf.
