questions & answers

Question: My brother has a 15 yr old felony child abuse conviction against him which was deemed non dangerous and non repetitive (an accidental injury to his then infant daughter) to which he confessed and served his time. He desperately needs substantial employment to support himself and his three children, but this has proved almost impossible due to his felony status. Is there any way at all to have this expunged/set aside? May be grasping at straws, but any info will help. Thank you and god bless.

Answer: Expungement and set aside are tools that persons convicted of crimes might be able to use to lessen the negative impact of their criminal conviction and criminal record.

 

Does every state view expungement and “set aside” in the same way?

No. Each individual state decides what expungement and/or set aside means in its state.  States may look to one another to see how laws are defined, but each state makes its own decision about expungement and setting aside criminal convictions. This article only addresses Arizona law.

 

How does Arizona view expungement and “setting aside” convictions?

In Arizona, expungement has the same meaning as setting aside. Expungement does not wipe out the conviction. The record of conviction is not destroyed. For the protection of the public, a conviction may be used to deny certain kinds of employment, licenses, permits, certificates as well as used against a person in future criminal cases, even though the conviction was set aside or expunged.

 

In Arizona, after a conviction is expunged or set aside, does a person have to disclose the expunged conviction on a job application or in a job interview?

A person whose conviction has been set aside or expunged must disclose the conviction if the employment application asks whether the person has a prior conviction. An applicant must report previous conviction of an offense, if asked about prior convictions during a job interview. However, the applicant should also report that the conviction “has been vacated (or set aside) and the charges dismissed.” The court uses this language in setting aside a conviction.

For more information on Expungement, go to:http://azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?mc=13&sc=66&articleid=147.