When your arrest or criminal charges are wrongful, you can spend resources trying to ensure you are not also wrongfully convicted of an offense. Your criminal defense attorney might work hard to ensure your case is dropped or you are found not guilty. However, even after this stressful process, you might continue to feel the effects of having an arrest and/or criminal charges on your record. These records can impact your employment, housing, and more.
Texas law provides relief in this situation by allowing individuals who were not convicted of crimes to seek an expungement of their record. This process does not happen automatically, and the court does not make it easy to successfully obtain an expungement. It is important to have the help of a Texas expungement lawyer during this process.
The Effect of an Expungement
Once you obtain an expungement, you should understand how it works and how it can benefit you. You should have your arrest and charges legally erased from public records. This means:
- You can honestly and lawfully state you have not been arrested or charged with a crime
- Private parties, such as potential employers, will not be able to access information about your arrest or charges
- Agencies will be prohibited from using or releasing expunged records
- Your record should be cleared on the local, state, and federal levels
- Your fingerprints, DNA swabs, and records of detention in jail must all be destroyed
Essentially, your records should appear as if your arrest or charge never happened in the first place.
Contact a Texas Expungement Lawyer as Soon as Possible
Arrests are stressful, and so can be getting arrests off your record. Let The expungement lawyer at Gilbert G. Garcia Law Firm help you clear your name and move forward without the weight of an arrest record. Contact us to learn about possible options and how our Texas expungement attorney can assist.
