Oklahoma City attorney Travis Charles Smith explains how he regularly helps clients get misdemeanor charges off their records in Oklahoma. To get started, give us a call (405) 701-6016, or complete the form in this link:
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Misdemeanors. The most common type of charge. Those little crimes that so many people will find themselves involved in. They encompass everything from property crimes, like theft and vandalism, to drug crimes, like marijuana possession or public intoxication. Even traffic violations are considered misdemeanor offenses, even though most people don’t even think of traffic offenses as actual crimes.
Misdemeanor crimes can sometimes make for really good stories over drinks, because some misdemeanor crimes have really funny names, like “molesting a standing vehicle” or “enraging public decency,” prompting your friends – or employer – to ask, “what is that all about?!”
But misdemeanor charges can also be very concerning for employers and the public at large. When you have a record that contains “domestic abuse” or “assault and battery” or “resisting arrest,” the person reviewing the record will immediately get the impression that you are someone with aggressive or violent tendencies.
As we discussed in our last article, misdemeanor crimes can prevent you from getting a job in Oklahoma, depending on the type of job and the type of crime. The good news is that you can legally expunge misdemeanors off your record, no matter what type of crime or what type of outcome. Unlike felony charges, you can serve jail time on a misdemeanor and still get it expunged. This article will walk you through how to get any type of misdemeanor off your record in Oklahoma.
The outcome of the misdemeanor decides the waiting time for expungement in Oklahoma
The first thing to assess is not what type of misdemeanor crime you were charged with; that doesn’t even matter! For misdemeanors, they are all treated the same! Domestic abuse is treated the same as a speeding ticket!
Instead, what matters is the outcome. Answer these questions to see what I mean:
Were you arrested, but never charged?
Were you charged, but the charges were dropped?
Did you plead guilty and pay a fine?
Did you plead guilty and receive a deferred sentence?
Did you plead guilty and serve a few days in jail?
Did you plead guilty and get a ”suspended” jail sentence?
Did you go to trial and get acquitted?
Figure out what happened in your case. You can do this by looking your case up on OSCN.net or if it was a municipal (city) offense, try searching the city’s website. Oklahoma City Municipal Court has a website that is easy to search. Or if you have your OSBI background report, review that.
Now that you know the final outcome of your misdemeanor case, you can assess the time line for how long you must wait to expunge it off your record.
The waiting time to get a misdemeanor off your record ranges from 0 to 5 years, depending on the outcome of the case.
The waiting time ranges from “you can file for expungement immediately” to “you have to wait five years.” Here is the breakdown.
If you paid a fine of $500 or less, you can get that off your record immediately.
If you paid a fine of $501 or more, you must wait five years from the date you paid the fine. Same goes for if you served any jail time or received a “suspended” sentence.
If you received a deferred sentence, you may expunge your case one year after the deferred sentenced ended.
How do you get a misdemeanor completely off your record in Oklahoma?
You need to file for an expungement. The best way to do this is to hire a lawyer who regularly handles expungements.
An expungement is a court order that seals your arrest/criminal record from public access, making it legally confidential, and impossible for the public to access.
The benefits of getting your record expunged are many. For one, you can legally deny the arrest or charge ever happened. That means that when you are applying for a job, for university financial aid, for housing or for anything, you can legally deny in writing that you were ever arrested/charged/convicted.
Second, it is illegal for any of the above institutions to use expunged information against you.
Finally, getting your records expunged can allow you to reach your full potential. No longer will you have this thing holding you back.
If you’d like to get started today, give me a call (405) 701-6016 or send me an email. I handle expungements for as low as $499 and I waste no time in the process getting them done. I love doing this and I would love to help you too.
