How To Expunge Your Record In Maryland?
Expungement in Maryland if You Were Not Convicted of a Crime – You were arrested but not charged with a crime. If you were arrested but not charged, your case qualifies for expungement—but whether it will be automatically erased depends on the date of your arrest.
If you were arrested on or after October 1, 2007, your arrest will be automatically expunged within 60 days of your release from custody. If you were arrested before that date, you must petition the arresting agency to expunge your record. You must request expungement within eight years of the date of the incident for which you were arrested.
(Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure §§ 10-103, 103.1 (2018).) You were arrested and charged with a crime, but not convicted, You may request that your record be expunged if:
the charge against you was dismissed the charges against you were dropped (nolle prosequi) the court indefinitely postponed your case your case was settled you were placed on probation without judgment (except for DUI charges), or you were found not guilty.
In most cases, you must wait three years before you file for expungement, unless you can show good cause why a court should expunge your case sooner, or if you sign a general waiver waiving your right to sue the police. Your case will not qualify for expungement if you have subsequent criminal convictions or if there are criminal proceedings pending against you.
How far back does a background check go in Maryland?
How Far Back Do Maryland Employment Background Checks Go? – How far back an employment background check in Maryland can legally go depends on two factors: the type of background check you are conducting and whether you’re working with a consumer reporting agency (CRA) or searching on your own.
- CRAs are limited to a seven-year lookback period for many types of records, while employers conducting their own searches are not.
- If you work with a CRA to obtain background checks, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) limits reporting to seven years on arrests that did not lead to convictions, liens, collections, and civil judgments.
Bankruptcies are limited to 10 years. This seven-year limit does not apply for jobs that have a salary of $20,000 or more, nor to searches conducted by employers themselves (rather than through a CRA). Employers conducting checks without the help of a CRA may go back as far as needed to verify education, employment history, credentialing, or licensing.
Criminal record information: Maryland law prohibits CRAs from reporting the records of arrest, indictments, criminal convictions, or any other adverse information that is older than seven years. This limit is waived if the job in question has a salary of $20,000 or more. When using criminal records to make hiring decisions, state guidance recommends employers consider only convictions that have a direct relationship to the position and haven’t been expunged or sealed by the courts. Employers should also consider the nature and recency of the crime and whether the candidate shows evidence of rehabilitation–this is similar to guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Civil court checks: Under both the FCRA and Maryland law, CRAs cannot report civil lawsuits, civil judgments, and paid tax liens more than seven years old. However, this limit doesn’t apply to positions with salaries of $20,000 or more. Motor vehicle records checks: Most MVR checks in Maryland go back three years, However, transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, must search the entire adult driving history of candidates for driver positions. Employment credit checks: Like the FCRA, Maryland law forbids CRAs from reporting bankruptcies more than 10 years old or any collections accounts more than seven years old. Positions with salaries expected to equal or exceed $20,000 aren’t subject to these restrictions. Maryland’s Job Applicant Fairness Act, discussed in more detail below, places additional limitations on background credit checks for employment.
What felonies in Maryland can be expunged?
Crimes That Can Be Expunged In Maryland – Maryland expungement laws apply to both adult and juvenile cases. Some of the more common crimes expunged are misdemeanor assault charges, DUI, DWI, prostitution, theft, and minor drug offenses such as marijuana possession.
How do you get a record removed?
Can I Clear My Criminal Record? – A criminal record is a report that contains any prior charges and convictions that a person may have received. When someone is said to “have a criminal record “, it usually means that they have been convicted of some sort of crime and the record of that crime can be found by conducting a public records search.
Felony offenses; Misdemeanors crimes; Arrests; Convictions; Sentences or dismissals; and Parole violations.
Having a criminal record can have a serious impact on a person’s life. It can prevent them from getting a job, renting an apartment, obtaining custody of their child, or taking other actions. Thus, many people will attempt to have their criminal record cleared.
