Sealing Criminal Records

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  • Under the laws of the state of Washington, it is possible to take a conviction off your Washington State Patrol record. This is also known as vacating or expunging a conviction. Pelley Law is able to clear a conviction in the state of Washington, which means that the court will provide that the conviction is vacated. Under a very specific set of circumstances, a felony or misdemeanor offense can be vacated. Our firm can also seek to have records of an arrest or prosecution removed. This is especially important now that criminal history background checks have become a common part of life in the computer age. A background check often will be run on you when you apply for a job, mortgage, or even to live in an apartment complex. If you apply for college or graduate school, you may have to disclose your criminal record. Vacating your criminal records allows you to state that you were never convicted of the crime that was vacated. In addition, our firm can help those who wish to restore their voting rights or the right to own and possess firearms in the state of Washington.
  • Vacation of felony in Washington State allows people who were convicted of a felony – a crime for which the sentence is at least one year in prison – to remove it from their criminal records after a certain amount of time has passed. If you were convicted of a felony in Washington State at least 5 years ago, you may qualify for a vacation of the felony. This means you will not have to list it on job, housing, and other important applications. Who can request a vacation of felony conviction?
    • You were not convicted of a Class A Felony (the most serious type).
    • If you were convicted of a Class C Felony, it was at least 5 years ago.
    • If you were convicted of a Class B Felony, it was at least 10 years ago.
    • You haven’t been convicted of a new crime since the date of discharge (the date the court provides a Certificate of Discharge).
    • You don’t have any pending criminal charges.
    • You were not convicted of a “serious violent crime” (defined by state law in RCW 9.94A.030(50)).
    • You were not convicted of a “crime against persons” (defined by state law in RCW 9.94A.411)

    Requesting a vacation of felony conviction First, collect all the documents required to apply for a felony conviction. You will need the following:

    • A criminal background check from Washington State Patrol
    • The Judgment and Sentence for the conviction
    • The Certificate of Discharge for the conviction

    Next, create, or hire a lawyer to create, all the documents the court will need to consider your request. This includes:

    • A Motion to Vacate the Conviction (a form requesting the vacation)
    • A Declaration of Support of the Motion to Vacate
    • An Order Vacating the Conviction

    Finally, schedule a hearing date at the court that originally sentenced you for the felony, and notify the prosecuting attorney who was involved in your case. This process varies from court to court, so it’s best to contact the court clerk and ask about the rules for scheduling a hearing and notifying the prosecuting attorney. After all of this has been done, the court will determine whether to accept your request and clear your record of the felony. What it may cost Courts do not charge for the vacation of felony conviction process. If you hire an attorney, you will be charged for his or her services. Attorneys’ fees depend on their experience and area of expertise. Contact Us

  • Vacation of misdemeanor conviction in Washington State allows people who were convicted of a misdemeanor (minor crime) to remove it from their criminal records after a certain amount of time has passed. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor in Washington State at least 3 years ago, you may qualify for a vacation of the misdemeanor. This means you will not have to list it on job, housing, and other important applications.   Who can request a vacation of misdemeanor conviction? You can request a vacation of misdemeanor conviction if the following is true:
    • The conviction was not a “serious violent crime” or an attempt to commit one (defined by state law in RCW 9.94A.030(50)).
    • The conviction was not a sex offense, obscenity and/or pornography offense, or a sexual exploitation offense.
    • The conviction was not for any of the following offenses: DUI, physical control of a vehicle while under the influence, or operation of railroad equipment while under the influence.
    • You have not been convicted of a new crime since the date of discharge (the date the court provided a Certificate of Discharge).
    • If you were convicted of domestic violence, at least 5 years have passed since all terms of the sentencing court have been completed. This includes payment of any fines or court fees and successful completion of any treatment ordered as a condition of sentencing.
    • If you were convicted of a non-domestic violence-related misdemeanor, at least 3 years have passed since all terms of the sentencing court have been completed. This includes payment of any financial obligations and successful completion of any treatment ordered as a condition of sentencing.

    How to request a vacation of misdemeanor conviction First, collect all the documents required to apply for a misdemeanor conviction. You will need the following:

    • A criminal background check from Washington State Patrol
    • The Judgment and Sentence for the conviction

    Next, create, or hire a lawyer to create, all the documents the court will need to consider your request. This includes the following:

    • A Motion to Vacate the Conviction (a form requesting the vacation)
    • A Declaration of Support of the Motion to Vacate
    • An Order Vacating the Conviction

    Finally, schedule a hearing date at the court that originally sentenced you for the misdemeanor, and notify the prosecuting attorney who was involved in your case. This process varies from court to court, so it’s best to contact the court clerk and ask about the rules for scheduling a hearing and notifying the prosecuting attorney. After all of this has been done, the court will determine whether to accept your request and clear your record of the misdemeanor.   What it may cost Courts do not charge for the vacation of misdemeanor conviction process. If you hire an attorney, you will be charged for his or her services. Attorneys’ fees depend on their experience and area of expertise.   Contact Us

  • In Washington State, expungement makes it possible to seal or destroy the criminal records of a person who was arrested for but not convicted of a crime. Government and background-check databases may still list a crime in your file even if you were not found guilty of committing it. If you qualify for it, expungement will remove the crime from your record in these databases.   Who can request expungement in Washington State? If you want to request expungement, the following must be true:
    • You never plead guilty to the crime you were arrested for.
    • You don’t currently have charges pending against you in state or federal court.
    • Two years have passed since either your case was dismissed or you were acquitted of the crime.
    • Three or more years have passed since the day you were arrested or the case was filed.
    • You are not a fugitive and a case against you is not still pending in court.

    Requesting expungement in Washington State If expungement is possible in your situation, all the information proving eligibility must be given to the court. The rules for this process vary; you may need to provide documentation about the arrest and information about why you were not convicted of the crime. It’s best to check with the court clerk about the process, or find an attorney from your jurisdiction. After that, these general steps apply:

    1. If possible, get the expungement document, or Order Expunging your criminal record, from the court.
    2. Notify the arresting agency (the police or sherrif’s department that originally arrested you for the crime) of the court order.
    3. Ask the court clerk to forward a copy of the order to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

    On average, it takes 4 to 6 weeks to get the expungement order. After that, it takes 8 to 12 weeks to remove the criminal record from government and background-check databases. What expungement may cost Courts do not charge for the expungement process. If you hire an attorney, you will be charged for his or her services. Attorneys’ fees depend on their experience and areas of expertise. Contact Us

  • There are a number of circumstances where you could lose your firearm rights. Each situation has its own varying levels of complexity. To find out about your particular situation, we advise you contact an attorney. However, here is a very general summary of how it works in Washington State. If it is a Class A felony or a sex offense, you must seek a Pardon, Annulment, Certificate of Rehabilitation. Future posting will review these processes. This is also true if the Class A felony or sex offense was committed as a juvenile offender.
    If it is a Class B or C Felony the following three conditions must be met: (1) More than 5 years have passed in the community without being convicted of any crime (misdemeanor or felony); (2) No criminal charges are currently pending in any federal, state or local court; (3) The person does not have a prior felony prohibiting the possession of firearms counted as part of the offender score. If these three conditions are met you may be eligible to seek restoration of Firearm Rights. If the crime is Domestic Violence related and the person is prohibited to own or possess firearms, then the four conditions must be met: (1) More than 3 years have passed in the community without being convicted of any crime; (2) No criminal charges are currently pending in any federal, state or local court; (3) The person does not have a prior felony prohibiting the possession of firearms counted as part of the offender score; (4) The person has successfully completed all conditions of their Judgment & Sentence including any financial obligations.

    There is a sweeping exception to what is set forth above. If the conviction is for an offense committed prior to July 1, 1984; an order of dismissal was entered after completion of supervision, and the conviction is for an offense other than murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, indecent liberties, arson, assault, kidnapping, extortion, burglary, or violations with respect to controlled substances. Speak with an attorney to learn more. You will need to schedule a hearing date at the court that originally sentenced you, and notify the prosecuting attorney who was involved in your case. This process varies from court to court, so it’s best to contact the court clerk and ask about the rules for scheduling a hearing and notifying the prosecuting attorney. In addition, some courts require a civil petition, while others allow the petition to be done under the criminal cause number. Those interested in learning more about restoring Firearm Rights in Washington, contact Seattle Criminal Defense Attorney Aaron A. Pelley.   Contact us

  • No one should be continuously punished for one mistake. Nevertheless, juvenile criminal records continue to haunt individuals in the world were criminal background checks are common when applying for jobs, schools, housing (aptartments, condos, community associations), loans, grants, special licenses, getting promotions, security clearances, in personal relationships, to name a few. One of the common misconceptions we hear in Washington State is that the record will be sealed when an individual turns eighteen. This is simply not true. If you qualify to have your record juvenile sealed, and the court grants your petition, then your record will no longer appear in Washington State Patrol Criminal Background Checks. First you need to determine which process applies. The difference between deletion and sealing a juvenile record rests on whether you plead or were found guilty.

    Deletion (Plead or Found Not Guilty)
    If you were accused and found not guilty, the case was dismissed or you entered into stipulated order of continuance you may qualify to have your record deleted. Washington law allows a person who has never been convicted of a crime and who has never received a previous record sealing or deletion of non-conviction data to request that the court delete the non-conviction data. This is a different procedure and operates under a different statute than the juvenile sealing record. If you believe this is what you qualify for, visit this page on Expungement in Washington State.

    Sealing (Plead or Found Guilty)
    Washington law allows a person who has been convicted as a juvenile to seal his or her juvenile records. If you plead guilty, found guilty or entered a deferred sentencing you may qualify to have your record sealed. Washington law allows a person who has been convicted of a crime as a juvenile to request that the court seal juvenile convictions and the criminal history record information (CHRI) on file with the Washington State Patrol. This will prevent your record from being disseminated if you meet certain statutory criteria.
    The threshold requirements for sealing are:

    • This was a juvenile court conviction.
    • There are no active agencies seeking to convict or enter into a diversion agreement.
    • All legal financial obligations (including restitution) has been paid.

    Thereafter, you must determine whether you have met the statutory waiting period. This requires that there are no new criminal law violations during your waiting period. The clock for when the waiting period starts, is from the last day of confinement or the day of the disposition (the day the court sentenced).
    The waiting periods for each class of crime are:

    • Class B Felony is 2 years
    • Class C Felony is 2 years
    • Misdemeanor or Gross Misdemeanor is 2 years
    • A Diversion Agreement is 2 years

    In addition, there are specific requirements if this was a Class A offense or a Sex offense. It is best to meet with an attorney to discuss these other requirements. You or your lawyer will likely draft a Motion and Declaration to Seal Records of Juvenile Offender, Order on Motion to Seal Records of Juvenile Offender and Notice of Respondent’s Motion to Seal Records of Juvenile Offender. Thereafter, the process varies from court to court and you or your lawyer needs to contact the court clerk in you local jurisdiction and determine the local procedures. Once sealed or expunged, all records of your arrest and/or subsequent court case are removed from the public view. Even better, once sealed, for the purposes of employment and housing, you may legally deny or acknowledge that you were convicted for the crime which you had sealed. Unlike adult convictions, there is no limit to the number of juvenile records you can seal. However, it still is in the courts discretion to seal. As noted above, this privilege is not available for all crimes and you may find it beneficial to seek the advice of a seattle criminal attorney. Sealed juvenile records are protected from public examination, but they do not cease to exist. Records may be re-opened for public examination if you are convicted of a juvenile offense or adult crime, or if you are charged with a felony.