Expungements in Arkansas
In the last legislative session there were, once again, some changes to how expungements are done. The criminal record isn’t actually destroyed. I like to say it’s just put into a different file cabinet, so to speak. The technical name is sealing. If you are considering sealing your record it’s important for you to know that law enforcement can still see your criminal history so sealing is most helpful for employment and housing. By law you can say it didn’t happen but whether or not you should say that is a different story. I’ve helped many clients seal their record. Whether or not you qualify to have your record sealed isn’t an easy question to answer and will require a phone consultation. Below are a few of the recent changes:
- filing fee is now eliminated
- waiting period eliminated for non-violent felonies
- waiting period eliminated for misdemeanors
- time between filing of the petition and judge being able to issue order and reduced for misdemeanors
- changes to how many licensing boards can treat criminal records and the effect of sealing (Act 990 of 2019)
