Chicago Criminal Lawyer explains the difference between expungement, Executive Clemency, & sealing

This Chicago Criminal lawyer recently volunteered at the Cook County Bar Association's Executive Clemency and Expungement Summit. There were several speakers present including State Representative Constance Howard and Illinois Prisoner Review Board Member Geraldine Tyler.

In this era of instant information and background checks these tools are more important than ever before. Whenever a person is charged with a crime, even if the person is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed an arrest record is available to the general public.

Expungement is available for cases where one didn't receive a conviction including:

"Not Guilty"
"Stricken of Call with Leave to Reinstate"
"Non-Suit"
Nolle Porsequi
"Finding of No Probable Cause"
Conviction Reversed on Appeal
Supervision Terminated Satisfactorily (this is not available for all crimes including DUI)
710 or 1410 Probation (assuming no other arrests and more than five years has passed)

Sealable Cases

Convictions for the following Felony Cases:

Class 4 Felony Prostitution
Class 4 Felony Possession of Cannabis (requires the submission of a negative drug test)
Class 4 Felony Possession of Controlled Substance (requires the submission of a negative drug test)

Executive Clemency is available for matters that cannot be sealed or expunged.

These procedures are important so that the accused who has paid his debt to society is able to be successfully re-integrated into society.