Florida law allows a person to clear or expunge certain criminal arrests and convictions from his or her criminal record, providing specific requirements are met. There are also laws which govern the expunction of juvenile records. According to Florida Statute 943.0515, if a juvenile was considered to be a serious or repeat offender, or was sentenced to time in a correctional facility or juvenile prison, his or her juvenile criminal record will be retained until he or she is 26 years old, at which point it will be automatically expunged. If a juvenile was not considered to be a habitual offender, his or her criminal record may be eligible for automatic expunction when he or she turns 24. In cases where a person, who is 18 years old or older, commits a felony offense prior to his or her juvenile record being expunged, that record is required to become part of his or her adult criminal record and will need to be addressed accordingly.
Florida Statute 943.0582 states that juvenile defendants who have undergone a pre-arrest, post-arrest or teen court diversion program may be eligible to have their record expunged. For any other individuals seeking to clear their record, Florida Statute 943.0585 covers the qualifications for the court-ordered expunction of criminal history records for both adults and juveniles.
At our firm, we understand that a past error could cause your juvenile record to remain intact and prevent you from having a clean criminal record. We are aware that getting your criminal record cleared may not be a simple matter. Due to the strict requirements and highly-involved process surrounding the clearing or expunging of a person's juvenile record, we strongly recommend you contact us at Calvo & Calvo, Attorneys at Law, as soon as possible. An accomplished criminal defense lawyer from our firm will be able to sit down with you, answer your questions, review of your juvenile criminal record, advise you as to what will legal actions must be undertaken to clear your record, help you prepare the necessary documentation to receive a certificate of eligibility for expunction and guide you through the entire process from beginning to end. Do not put your future reputation at risk, contact our Fort Myers criminal defense lawyer at once.