questions & answers

Question: I was convicted in AZ for "ASSAULT INTENT/ RECKLESS/ INJURE" in 2009. I understand that I cannot get this expunged if it involves the infliction of serious physical injury, but how or who determines what is a "serious physical injury"? There was no serious physical injury but there was contact.

Answer: In Arizona, convictions are not "expunged" but rather they are "set aside."  AZLawHelp has an article that discusses how convictions are set aside in Arizona available online, titled "Setting Aside Convictions And Restoring Civil Rights."  Whether or not a specific case qualifies is a determination that is beyond the scope of AZLawHelp.  However, A.R.S. 13-105 defines "serious physical injury" as "...includes physical injury that creates a reasonable risk of death, or that causes serious and permanent disfigurement, serious impairment of health or loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily organ or limb."