Expungement or How to Get a Job When You Have a Criminal Record

In America, individuals without criminal records have advantages over individuals with criminal records, especially regarding applying for a job.  Employers often run background checks on job applicants to see if they have criminal records.  Many employers are less likely to hire an applicant with a criminal record over an applicant without a criminal record.  Though a man or woman has paid his debt to society, in this electronic age, computers store and easily retrieve information about a person’s past, including his or her criminal record, and employers can obtain those records at low cost.  Nevertheless, individuals with criminal records can cure this situation by the legal process called expungement.

Expungement allows an individual’s public criminal record to be sealed and unavailable when a private employer searches a person’s criminal record.  In Tennessee, many criminal records and charges may be expunged.  On the other hand, certain other criminal offenses, sex crimes, DUI, assault, murder, and various other charges may not be expunged ever in any circumstance.  In order to qualify for expungement, you must have been charged with certain crimes and at least three years must pass after your conviction before applying for expungement.

Obtaining expungement is a complicated process. To obtain an expungement, several hurdles must be met.  For more information about whether you qualify for expungement, contact Nashville criminal defense attorney Perry A. Craft.