Sealing Versus Expunging Your Criminal Record
I often receive telephone calls from people asking if I can help them get their criminal record expunged. I ask them if they are eligible to have their criminal record expunged or merely sealed. The response is usually silence since most people do not realize that there is a distinction in Florida law between getting one's criminal record expunged versus getting it sealed. If a criminal record is expunged, then it must be physically destroyed pursuant to Florida statute section 943.0585(4). However, if a criminal record is merely sealed, then it is not physically destroyed but its contents are still confidential under most circumstances. See Florida statute section 943.059(4). Once a criminal record has been sealed for at least 10 years, it may then be possible to have it expunged. See Florida statute section 943.0585(2)(h).
Florida criminal lawyer Ronald Chapman has helped many people get their criminal records sealed or expunged. You can read more about Mr. Chapman’s experience as a Florida criminal attorney as well as review news articles about some of his cases. Some of the types of cases and issues that Mr. Chapman has handled include:
• Death Penalty Cases
• Assault and Battery Cases
• DUI Cases
• Drug Cases
• Sex Crimes Cases
• Sealing & Expunging Criminal Records
• Bond|Bail
• Mistaken Identification and Wrongful Conviction
• Police Interrogations
• Sentencing
