State College Expungement Attorney

What Is an Expungement?

In Pennsylvania, the term “expunge” means “to remove information so that there is no trace or indication that such information existed.”  Basically, an expungement is the destruction of government records.  There is a difference between expunged and sealed records in Pennsylvania.

Limitations on Expungements

It must be emphasized that an expungement has limitations. A court can only order the destruction of government or court records. If a private person or a private company has a record of the incident, they cannot be forced by a court to expunge records. For example, a person cannot for an online newspaper to remove or expunge articles.

There are also private companies that purchase government records in bulk and then sell that information to background search companies. It is possible that a background search company gets case information from a private records database even though that information was expunged from the government records. Some private databases do honor expungement requests if they are provided with a copy of the expungement order. Experienced expungement attorneys like those at JD Law are aware of such private databases and take steps to have those records expunged as well.

The expungement process varies from county to county. Because expungement procedures vary, it is important to hire a criminal defense attorney that has experience in filing expungements in the precise county in which the charges were filed. The attorneys at JD Law have expungement experience in Centre, Mifflin, Clinton, and Huntingdon counties.  If you need an expungement in those counties, contact our office to discuss the matter.  If you need an expungement attorney in another county, contact us for a possible referral.  Call JD Law at (814) 689-9139 or email us for a free consultation.