Hope Everyone enjoyed their day celebrating Holi with the Arya Samaj of Miami at Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park yesterday, Sunday March 4th. It was filled with song, delicious food, and lots of paint and color. Can't wait till next year!

You've made it to the end of the process and the judge issues an Order for Your Expungement, what happens now? When the Judge orders your record to be Expunged or Sealed, The Clerk of Court, Law Enforcement Agencies, the State Attorney's Office and the F.D.L.E. must take action to complete the process. The Clerk of Court must remove all access to your record. Your record will no longer be available for search on the Clerk’s website and it will not be available at the Clerk’s office upon request. Also, the Clerk of Court will no longer sell your information to private parties. The arresting agency and the County’s Sheriff must remove all access to your files. Once law enforcement ends and inv

In the State of Florida people often wonder how many times they can seal or expunge their criminal record and are shocked to learn that Florida only allows you to seal or expunge (1) criminal record once in your lifetime. An exception to this rule exists when more than one charge is given at the time of the arrest and all the charges are from the same incident. In this scenario you may be eligible to expunge multiple charges from the same incident if the charges qualify to seal or expunge. If you have multiple criminal charges that arose out of separate arrests (that are both eligible to seal or expunge), you would need to choose which record to seal or expunge. If you have ever sealed/expun

Qualifying for an expungement is the first step in the sealing and expunging process. In order to expunge your criminal record you must have received one of the following results: No Action – This means that after you were arrested, the Office of the State Attorney reviewed the circumstances of your arrest and decided not to file any charges against you. Nolle Prosse (Dismissal) – This means that after you were arrested, the Office of the State Attorney did file formal charges against you but later decided to dismiss them. This may be because of lack of evidence, problems with witnesses, participation in a pre-trial intervention program or many other possible reasons. Acquittal by a Judge o

Did you know that a Public Defender Cannot Represent you in the Expungement and Sealing Process? Although you may have been represented by the public defender when you resolved your criminal case, the Public Defender’s Office cannot assist you in the sealing or expungement of your criminal record. The Attorney General’s Office addressed this issue: AGO 95-45, July 14, 1995: Public Defender can’t represent indigent re seal & expunge – Section 27.51, Florida Statutes, does not authorize a public defender to represent an indigent person for the purpose of a Motion to Expunge or Seal the indigent’s criminal records, regardless of whether the public defender may have previously been appointed to

In Florida, did you know it is possible to be found guilty, BUT NOT CONVICTED. Given Florida’s sentencing structure you can be found guilty of committing a criminal act and still not be convicted of committing the act. This happens even if you plead guilty or no contest or are found guilty by a jury of committing a crime. If you are charged and you enter a plea of guilty or no contest you will be found guilty by the court. What happens after this finding of guilt? It's up to the court to decide if you will be Adjudicated Guilty or if the court will grant a Withhold of Adjudication. It is this decision by the court that will determine if you are convicted. If the Court adjudicates you guilty