Colorado Expungement Laws

Suppose many years ago when you were a teenager, you got rowdy one Halloween and caused some mischief which got your arrested. Chances are that given the circumstances the charges were dropped and you were turned over to your parents for "punishment." Now years later you want to serve in the military or are applying for a license to be a broker of some sort. A background check can be run and up pops the red flag of your criminal arrest. You can try to explain away what happened but the record is the record and in many instances the mere presence of that record is enough to have you turned down for that job. Colorado expungement laws allow for individuals with circumstances like the one mentioned above to have those records sealed and prevented from showing up on a background check.

Expungement is a fancy legal term meaning "to get rid of." This doesn't mean that the records are permanently destroyed but it means they can be accessed only by a court order. In most cases, you just want to make sure you pass the background check. The easiest way to be granted expungement in Colorado is if you were found innocent of the charges against you or the case was dismissed. There might not even have been any official charges brought against you but if you were arrested that is now a part of your permanent record unless it is expunged.

If you proceeded to a trial where you were found guilty, then the chances of having your records expunged in Colorado are diminished. That doesn't mean it can't happen but typically convicted felons can not have their records sealed. This is especially true in cases of domestic violence or sexual assault. However, depending on the circumstances, the judge can grant that after a period of time when you have serve through your probation that your records can be sealed. This can often happen for first time offenders.

Many who get into trouble with minor offenses from their past quite often forget about them, especially if it happened when they were a minor. But you don't want those incidents to come back and haunt you. Seeking out the counsel of a professional criminal defense lawyer is the best course of action to assure your record can be cleared. Expungement is not automatic. Even if the crime occurred twenty years ago, there is still going to be a record. It's always best for a fresh start.