Northbrook Record Sealing Attorneys

Lawyer in Northbrook, IL Assisting Clients With Record Sealing in Criminal Cases

If you are arrested for a criminal offense or charged with a crime, you will have a criminal record. To be clear, if you beat the charges against you, your criminal record will not show a conviction, but you will nonetheless have a criminal record that can be searched and accessed by certain people, such as potential employers or potential lenders for credit. Accordingly, even an arrest or criminal charges can affect your livelihood and well-being in the future.

For people with certain types of criminal records, it may be possible to have the record sealed. The experienced Northbrook record sealing attorneys at our firm can speak with you today about your options.

What is Record Sealing in Northbrook?

Record sealing refers to the process of hiding your criminal record (or a portion of your criminal record) from the public. In other words, by sealing your criminal record, you can prevent members of the public from seeing your criminal record (20 ILCS 2630/5.2). 

It is important to know that record sealing is different from expungement. While record sealing prevents people from seeing what is in your criminal record, it does not get rid of your criminal record altogether. In order to have your criminal record destroyed, you will need to seek expungement. We can also discuss other forms of post-conviction relief with you, including criminal appeals.

Criminal Identification Act Amendment and Northbrook Record Sealing Expansion

In 2017, Illinois lawmakers expanded options for sealing criminal records in Northbrook and throughout the state of Illinois. Lawmakers amendment the Criminal Identification Act through HB2373. Those changes to the law allowed the court to order the sealing of certain criminal records.

In creating the law, legislators emphasized that certain types of criminal records are excluded from any eligibility for record sealing, such as sex crimes offenses and numerous violent crimes.  

Steps for Having a Northbrook Criminal Record Sealed

What do you need to do to have your criminal record sealed? This process requires multiple steps, and an experienced record sealing attorney in Northbrook can help. The following are steps that you will likely need to follow in order to have your criminal records sealed:

• Obtain copies of your criminal records;
• Work with a lawyer to determine which of your offenses may be eligible for sealing;
• Fill out necessary record sealing forms;
• Filing record sealing forms with the Circuit Clerk in Cook County, or in another county if that is where you were arrested or charged with the crime;
• Wait for your court date to be scheduled, then appear in court with your Northbrook record sealing lawyers; and
• Appeal if your request for record sealing is denied. 

Seek Advice from a Northbrook Record Sealing Lawyer

Do you need assistance having a criminal record sealed, or do you have questions about the difference between record sealing and expungement? An experienced Northbrook record sealing attorney at our firm can discuss your options with you today. Contact the Law Offices of Jonathan Minkus for more information about getting your criminal record sealed in Illinois.