How do you write to the courts in North Carolina to get a hearing to get your records criminal expunged?

Answer 1

The short answer is that you file a petition for expungement with the Superior Court in the county in which your arrest or trial took place; then the judge decides whether or not to grant it. The long answer is too long for this space, because eligibility of the person and the offense are limited and complex. The procedure also varies depending on the type of offense and whether your trial was in Superior or Municipal Court.

Fortunately, the entire process is explained in detail by Legal Services of New Jersey in a downloadable manual. It's the first related link below. And the New Jersey Judiciary has a complete set of instructions and forms, which is the second related link below.

Some individual county Superior Courts have their own local procedures, which you can find at the third related link. Click that link and scroll down the page to find any links in your county that mention expungement.

Answer 2

To request an expungement of your STATE criminal record: You must have either been acquited or served the complete term of your sentence - then submit a petition to the court setting forth good reason(s) why your request should be granted. A judge will review your petition and the circumstances of your case and issue a ruling either granting or denying the request. AN EXPUNGEMENT IS NOT A PARDON! Law enforcement, the courts, and government agencies will always have access to your actual 'true' record. Expungement only removes the record of your offense from being viewed by the public. FELONS CONVICTED IN STATE COURT OF STATE CRIMES: If your request for expungement is granted and you are a resident of a state which completely or partially restores your "rights" (you will have to do research to learn if this applies to your state of residence), you will still remain subject to any restrictions that your state laws place on you (e.g.- voting rights - privilege of holding elective office - firearms/ammunition possession - etc). CAUTION: FEDERALLY CONVICTED FELONS: It remains a FEDERAL felony offense for a federally convicted felon to ever own or possess a firearm. The United States Criminal Code, makes the penalty for illegal possession of a firearm in some cases, a mandatory minimum of fifteen (15) years in prison (Title 18 U.S.C. sec 924(e)(1).

Answer 3

First: It is EXTREMELY rare (never?) for more than one expungment to be granted per lifetime.

Second: If it was a federal felony, the state cannot expunge it.

Three: IF you are eligible (see below link) you must file the proper administrative paperwork - it is not a quick process, and it is strongly suggested that you retain an attorney for counsel as it is NOT a do-it-yourself project.

Answer 4

You can't simply write to a court in North Carolina to get your record expunged. You have to file a petition with the court, following the court's procedure and using the correct form. The forms are different for different types of offenses; examples are misdemeanor offenses committed when you were under 18, gang offenses when you were under 18, drug offenses when you were under 21, nonviolent felonies when you were under 18, certain types of nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors with no age limit, and more. The first related source below is the North Carolina General Statues article dealing with expunction of records.

You can find the petition forms and instructions at the second related source; type "expunction" in the Title box and click Search, and you'll get a list of 24 forms and instructions for each different type of offense. You can dowload the form and instruction for your type of case.

The third related source has a good summary of the issue.

As you can see, this is pretty complicated. It helps to have an attorney do this for you. Unfortunately, North Carolina public defenders don't handle expungement requests, and it's unlikely that legal services providers to either - so if you can't afford an attorney, you may need to do it yourself. At the fourth related source, you can search for lawyer referral services, and legal services providers just in case you can find one that will help.

You can also contact the court clerk of the court in which you originally convicted, and ask about their procedure. Contact info for all NC trial courts is at the last related source, along with links to the courts' websites.