Expunge Criminal Record
Michigan Records Expungement Attorneys
Michigan law allows for the deletion of all or part of the criminal record of certain criminal offenders. This is called a Motion to Set Aside a Conviction. There are strict requirements that a person must meet in order to be granted such an exupungement. These requirements include:
You must have been convicted of only ONE offense in your lifetime
For purposes of the expungement law, “conviction” is defined as a judgment entered by a court upon a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, or nolo contendere, or a jury verdict or court finding that a defendant is guilty or guilty but mentally ill.
Convictions of certain offenses will disqualify you from being granted an expungement. Those include:
• a felony for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment or at attempt of such a felony (this includes Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree and other crimes)
• Possession of child sexually abusive material (
Child Pornography)
• Using a computer to commit certain crimes
• Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree
• Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Third Degree
• Assault with Intent to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct
• Traffic tickets
HOWEVER, a recent change in the Michigan expungment law also allows for a person to have two “minor offenses” on their record and still qualify for expungement. We want to give you a word of caution, however; “minor offenses” is defined very narrowly under the law. The law states, “minor offense means a misdemeanor or ordinance violation for which the maximum permissible imprisonment does not exceed 90 days, for which the maximum permissible fine does not exceed $1,000.00, and that is committed by a person who is not more than 21 years of age.” Also, it may even be possible to have the court set aside convictions that have been reported to the Secretary of State, such as drug crimes and alcohol crimes.
5 years must have passed since the imposition of the sentence for the conviction that the applicants seeks to set aside or 5 years following completion of any term of imprisonment for that conviction, whichever occurs later.
If, and only if, a person meets the above requirements, he or she is then eligible to apply to the court for expungement of his or her criminal record. The lengthy application process involves the gathering and drafting of specific documentation and court records. An application will be considered invalid unless it contains all of the information required by the court. It is important to have attorneys representing you who understand the process of expungement and can work quickly and efficiently to obtain all of the necessary documentation.
Upon a petition to the court, the court will weigh your "circumstances and behavior" against the "public welfare." In other words, the petitioner has the burden of proving to the court that his or her actions and behavior from the date of the conviction until the time of the application are consistent with the goals of protecting public welfare and warrant the expungement of the criminal conviction. The court must make a sufficient analysis of the facts and circumstances in your case and cannot deny your request without explanation as to the basis of the determination.
An expungement may be the best investment that you could ever make. The benefits include, but are in no way limited to: telling a prospective employer that you have not been convicted of a crime; being eligible for student loans; being eligible for housing assistance; being eligible for more types of professional licenses and certificates; telling friends and family that you have not been convicted of a crime; and to stop fearing or being embarrassed when someone does a background check on you. An expungement eliminates all public records of the single criminal conviction
Don't let a criminal conviction be a shadow on your life. By expunging your record, you can legally and honestly say that you have not been convicted of a crime!
If you are interested in obtaining an expungement:
At Kronzek & Cronkright, before we take an expungement case, we must determine if the person is even eligible to have their conviction set aside. If you are interested in having us determine your eligibility for an expungement, please download the expungement information form, fill out the form completely, obtain a money order or certified check for $90.00 made payable to Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC, and mail the form and payment to:
Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC
420 South Waverly Road, #100
Lansing, Michigan 48917
The $90.00 payment is non-refundable and allows us to spend the time and resources to review your criminal record. If you do qualify for an expungement, you could then hire us to pursue the setting aside of your criminal record. Cost for such representation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Once we receive your completed form and your payment, you will hear from an attorney within 10 business days regarding your expungement request.
Please note: We do not take phone calls on this subject prior to a completed form and payment being received by our office. This $90.00 payment is required to complete the criminal records search to verify that you do qualify for the expungement process.
Our experienced attorneys look forward to reviewing your record to determine whether you qualify to ask the court to eliminate any public record of your conviction!
The law firm of Kronzek & Cronkright practices criminal defense throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They will represent clients from all over the state including Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Mount Pleasant, Bay City, Saginaw, Traverse City, Ludington, Allegan, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Port Huron, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Farmington Hills, Flint, Livonia, Warren, Bay City and Dearborn. If you are in need of a criminal defense attorney, call us today at 1-866-7NoJail, or e-mail us!
