This post covers what happens to a criminal record when a person is found not guilty, when charges are dropped, and when a minor is convicted. Each answer comes from Greg McCollum.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I’m arrested and charged with a crime, but found innocent, is my record cleared?
If you’re found innocent, and the legal term is not guilty, if you’re found not guilty of a crime, you have an absolute right to have your record cleared. It’s supposed to happen automatically. However, there are a lot of cases going through the system, there’s some bureaucracy involved, and so sometimes things are overlooked.
In theory, you’re not supposed to have to do anything. If you’re found not guilty, the records of your case should be destroyed, which is the term “expungement.” Expunge means completely destroyed, obliterated, so there’s no trace of them. In those instances, you should be able to contact the court, the clerk’s office, or the DA’s office and ask that the records be destroyed, and that should happen automatically.
Some people who want to be extra cautious would call the firm and say, “Can you check on this?” One of the things the firm does, and there are small fees involved in this, is go back and run a criminal history, check the public index, and check the places where records may appear just to confirm that they’re not there where they’re not supposed to be.
But basically, yes, if you’ve been exonerated or found not guilty, you have an absolute right to have those records destroyed and cleared.
If I am convicted of a crime as a minor, how will this impact my criminal record?
Even though the charges of a juvenile conviction are not supposed to be available to anyone, it seems like in many instances that they leak out. Certainly, they come up in future court hearings where the DA has access to them. Many times, schools and different institutions are notified of certain conduct.
Certainly, if someone’s charged with any kind of sex offense, they could possibly be required to register as a sex offender, and that does not end once the person is no longer a juvenile. So, there certainly are some pitfalls and some serious consequences to a juvenile conviction. Even though it’s supposed to be sealed, many times it isn’t.
I was arrested for a crime but the charges were later dropped
When a person is arrested, at least in South Carolina, a couple of records are created which are accessible to the public. If the charges are dismissed outright, you have a right to have those records expunged. In other words, you have a right to have those records taken out of the public record so that they no longer exist. There’s some steps that you probably need to take to make sure that that’s being done on your behalf.
With roughly 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor, Greg McCollum brings that perspective to questions about criminal records in South Carolina.
If you have questions about clearing your record, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.