If you have committed a crime, your first thought will – and should be – to beat the charges. However, many believe if they get that coveted “not guilty” verdict that their life will just return to the way it once was. However, even if you beat the charges, records of your arrest and charges still exist. No matter how big or small the crime was, when it is added to your criminal record, it can affect how the world will view you. There are a number of ways that having an arrest or conviction on your record will make your life more challenging, which is why you must seek expungement as soon as possible.
How Criminal Accusations Affect Your Life
Whether you served time in prison or were simply arrested and never changed, you will find yourself with a criminal record of some sort. While all arrests will affect your life negatively, some crimes will be taken more seriously when seen on your record than others. However, what aspects of your life will a criminal record affect?
Housing: While some may commit a serious crime and want to move elsewhere to start over, even those accused of minor crimes may want to move to a new area someday. Unfortunately, a criminal record can strongly affect your ability to get housing. A felony in particular will bar you from rentals at most places, but a landlord can deny to rent to you if you have any criminal record.
Getting a Job: Almost every employer will run a background check on you during the application process. No matter how qualified you are for the job, a criminal record that shows on a background check will make your application one of the first ones they throw out. This will make it more likely that you will have to seek lower paying jobs in more difficult areas like day labor, but even then, employers can be very selective in who they hire.
Getting Loans: Whether you are seeking to go to college or to buy a house, having a criminal record will affect your ability to get the money you need to take the next step. Criminal charges make you look like more of a risk to loan officers, and loan officers don’t give money to risky people.
Dating: These days all it takes is a quick search on Google and anyone can turn up a lot of surprisingly personal information about you. Most commonly, this could be mugshots and what you are arrested for. Any crime can affect your love life if people do their research on you.
Eligibility for Expungement
For all the above reasons, having a criminal record makes your life difficult. This is why you should take steps for expungement as soon as you are eligible. While expungement eligibility differs depending on the crime and the ultimate resolution of your case, there are several factors that can affect when and if you can file. These factors include:
- Time passed since arrest or conviction
- Severity and nature of the crime
- Multiple arrests or convictions of different areas
- Severity of other crimes already on your criminal record such as arrests for different crimes
If you have a criminal record or have been arrested and do not want it to affect your future, you should contact your Minnesota criminal defense attorney today. The lawyers at the Kinsella & Foley Defense will help to make sure that one mistake doesn’t throw your whole life off course.