Expungement Lawyers Near Me: Georgia Expungement Attorneys

Expungement refers to a legal process by which an individual can seek to have an arrest or conviction removed from her or his criminal record. Our expungement lawyers in Atlanta GA will answer many pressing questions about what crimes (under Georgia law) can be expunged in the Peach State.

Help is available 24 hours a day. Call our criminal defense law firm at (404) 567-5515 at any hour for a FREE attorney consultation with a co-author of the leading law book on Georgia DUI laws.

Our three Super Lawyers include a former law enforcement officer, a 25-year criminal defense lawyer who has handled no cases except criminal defense in his career, along with one of Georgia’s highest rated DUI lawyers, William C. Head, a 46-year attorney in Georgia.

At the end of this article, you’ll be ready to contact an expungement lawyer in Georgia today to discuss your case, at no cost for the initial interview, when we go over your eligibility. When expungement lawyers work with the district attorney (or other prosecutor inn GA) to clear your Georgia criminal history, this is conducted in a defined and very precise legal process.

Once our legal professionals know your criminal history, the process (under Georgia state laws) can then begin. Our expungement lawyer near me will help you expunge criminal records in state of GA, which are eligible. However, be aware that the federal NCIC criminal record remains intact.

For those who have eligible offenses, our expungement lawyers can expedite your Georgia expungement application. In completing this, most future job applications and background checks will no longer show a record of you pleading guilty or being found guilty at trial.

Since our initial legal advice is free to you, it makes good sense to let our criminal justice professionals handle expungement in DeKalb County GA, or a Fulton County expungement, Cobb County expunction or for a Gwinnett County criminal history.

How to Get your Record Expunged in GA

For Georgia expungement, the process more accurately described as being “the Record Restriction process.” This term for expungement in Georgia is more proper because the notion of “expungement” implies that the records are completely destroyed from existence, which they are not.

On January 1, 2021, Georgia law was altered to allow certain prior convictions for certain felonies and certain misdemeanors to become eligible for a record restriction under OCGA Section 35-3-37. The Georgia General Assembly did this by passing SB 288, which was a continuation of the excellent work former Governor Nathan Deal started in 2010.

Below, the following questions are answered:

1. What crimes can be expunged? Many misdemeanor and felony crimes are eligible.
2. Can I expunge misdemeanors in Georgia? Often, yes. You must have finished your sentence, have no new conviction for at least four years and no pending charges, and the offense cannot be on the excluded list, which includes DUI and family violence offenses. The judge must also find that the harm to you clearly outweighs the public’s interest in the record.
3. Can a DUI be expunged? One of our law firm’s most common questions on expungment is “can you expunge a DUI in Georgia? For a conviction, no. Georgia law bars a DUI conviction from record restriction. A DUI charge that was dismissed, dropped (nolle prossed) or ended in a not guilty verdict can usually be restricted, but not when the DUI was dropped as part of a plea to a related charge, such as reckless driving.

However, a trend for states starting to allow expunction has begun in Mississippi, and most recently in Michigan under their first offense expunction law for OWI misdemeanors. The legislation in these two conservative states may be a harbinger of good things to come.

1. Can a felony be expunged? In addition to many misdemeanor convictions, some felony crimes are also eligible. So, the answer to, “can you get a felony expunged?” is maybe. That is why our law professionals permit you to obtain a FREE consultation lawyer meeting (or phone conversation) to review these options, in detail.
2. How to get your record expunged in Georgia? You could try to do it yourself, or get help from a legal professional.

How to Expunge your Criminal Record in Georgia Courts

What happens in GA is that access to an individual’s records is restricted in that these criminal history records can only be viewed by certain government agencies or authorized entities. This continued access is required due to certain State laws that are targeted to repeat offenders.

If you are looking to understand more of the process of record restriction, you should contact a Georgia expungement lawyer right away. A skilled criminal attorney can help explain the requirements for record restriction and get you started. Guidance specific to the city’s courts is available from our expungement lawyers in Atlanta.

Record Restriction Process: How do you get your Record Expunged in GA?

Georgia code governs the process for record restriction in Georgia. The process for record restriction in Georgia depends on the date of the arrest. For arrests that occurred before July 1, 2013, the individual must apply for record restriction at the arresting agency and submit the proper filing fees. Whether these procedures apply to your situation turns on eligibility to remove a criminal record in Atlanta.

For arrests occurring after July 1, 2013, there is no application process. Instead, the GBI restricts the record automatically when the case ends in a qualifying result, such as a dismissal or an acquittal. A prosecutor can keep a dismissed case public only for reasons the law lists, such as a plea deal on a related charge. If an agency refuses to restrict a record that qualifies, you may file a civil action in superior court.

What Are the Grounds for Record Restriction?

Record restriction in Georgia is available with the help of a Georgia expungement lawyer in the following circumstances:

• Charges that are never filed within a set time after the arrest (two years for a misdemeanor, four years for most felonies, seven years for a serious violent felony or certain sex offenses against a child under 16);
• Where a total acquittal of all charges occurs; and
• First offender dispositions and any drug conditional discharge cases.

Many additional exceptions exist to these general rules. That is why our lawyer suggest making the call today.

Please note that a dismissed charge may not be restricted if the prosecutor shows it was dismissed because the person had diplomatic, consular or similar immunity from prosecution. Likewise, restriction may be denied if the prosecutor shows the conduct was part of a pattern of criminal activity prosecuted in another court or in a foreign country.

The Legal Effect of a Record Restriction

An expungement is not an official pardon or forgiveness for the criminal act. Only the President of the United States (for federal crimes) or Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles (for Georgia crimes) can issue a formal pardon.

If an individual is successful in getting a criminal record expunged, the result is that the arrest or conviction no longer appears on the criminal history the GBI gives to most private employers, landlords and licensing agencies. Police, prosecutors and judges can still see it, and court clerk files stay public unless the court also orders them sealed. Drivers with an impaired driving arrest can read more about public DWI records in Georgia.

However, it is important to note that the restriction covers criminal history records held by the GBI and law enforcement agencies only. It is not a court order for anyone who may have posted to social media to remove the information. Google or other online sources may still show news stories that were released relating to the arrest or conviction.

An individual must take additional steps to remove these items from public record, if possible, to maintain a sense of privacy. In addition, government agencies and other authorized entities may still be able to obtain and access your records of an expungement when investigating other suspected criminal acts.

Step 1: Contacting an Experienced Georgia Expungement Attorney

If you were charged or convicted of a crime and believe you are eligible for expungement, contact an experienced Georgia record restriction attorneys at our firm today. A skilled Georgia expungement lawyer with Kohn & Yager LLC will be happy to discuss your expungement case with you and help you understand the Record Restriction process in Georgia.

They have helped many hundreds of clients clear his or her criminal records. Our criminal law attorneys are familiar with the requirements to properly file for expungement. Not all lawyers in Georgia handle these legal matters.

Do not hesitate to call us at 404 567-5515 for your FREE lawyer consultation. About 90% of these inquiries can handled via phone call or virtual meeting, or you can meet with our lawyers in person at our Sandy Springs headquarters.

Why delay? Contact us to get the ball rolling. The free phone call means that you have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.