Santa Barbara Criminal Defense Attorney

Expunging Offenses from Your Criminal Record

Possessing a criminal record can have a significantly negative impact on your future opportunities and your ability to live a normal life. Most potential employers, landlords, schools, and banks perform a background checks as a way to assess the trustworthiness of a given individual. Having even a minor infraction such as a misdemeanor drug possession charge or a petty theft offense is enough to disqualify you from getting a good job. Our attorneys at Lessem & Newstat have over 50 years of experience having charges and convictions cleared or expunged.

How a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Santa Barbara can Clear Your Record

If you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, the legal process by which you have that conviction removed from your record is called expungement. If you would like a conviction expunged from your record, you should speak to a Santa Barbara criminal defense lawyer from our firm today. Our firm strongly believes that every individual deserves a fair chance no matter what he or she has done in the past. While criminal records exist to warn and protect individuals, they have a lasting negative impact on those convicted of crimes. No other firm will work harder to clear your name so that you do not have to go through the rest of your life burdened by a criminal record.

It is important to know that only one offense can be cleared from your record at a time. It should also be known that not all convictions qualify for expungement. Serious offenses such as violent crimes and most sex crimes cannot be cleared off your criminal record. In most cases, the convictions that do qualify for expungement are minor offenses. If you were convicted of a felony years ago and have since led an exemplary, crime-free life, you most likely can have that felony expunged from your record. Expungement can be especially important for individuals who run the risks of a Three Strikes offense. Because California hands out enhanced sentences for repeat felony offenders, having an offense removed from your record can save you from a life sentence should you commit an additional felony in the future.

If you would like a clean criminal record, you should contact a Santa Barbara criminal defense attorney to talk about the possibility of expungement.