Embarrassed by a first offense drunk driving charge that was never removed from your record or a conviction for an underage drinking offense or fighting offense when you were younger.   Trying to recover from a troubled past that led to a criminal conviction.  It haunts you and follows you and will stay with you until you can find a lawyer that will work for you to get it expunged or pardoned.

Do you need a Pennsylvania Expungement Lawyer or Pennsylvania Pardon lawyer?  Ciccarelli Lawyers is the Philadelphia Pa based Criminal Record Expungement and Pardon lawyers who fight for clients who need a fresh start on their life, their family and their career.  We represent individuals in criminal record expungment cases throughout PA including Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Lancaster County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia.

Need to know the difference between an expungement, which applies to ARD, first time offender’s programs, a nolle prosse, not guilty, acquittal or dismissal, juvenile offense or summary level conviction;  and a pardon, which applies to convictions of criminal offenses?

Learn more about getting your criminal record expunged, from experienced Pennsylvania Criminal Record Expungement Lawyers that are knowledgeable about Pennsylvania Expungement laws and can advise whether you are eligible for an expungement or whether the pardon process makes sense for you.  Contact Ciccarelli Lawyers to speak to a Pennsylvania Expungement or Pardon Lawyer today.  Call toll free (877) 529-2422.

We are based in suburban Philadelphia in Chester County with  main locations in West Chester, Kennett Square PA and Downingtown/Exton PA and with satellite locations in Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery Counties and Center City Philadelphia to fight for your criminal record expungement.  We charge reasonable fees and offer reasonable means to make payment including credit card options.   Contact Ciccarelli Lawyers to speak to a Pennsylvania Expungement or Pardon Lawyer today.  Call toll free (877) 529-2422.

In Pennsylvania, criminal charges can have a lasting impact on your reputation and livlihood even when the charges are dismissed.  Thanks to the internet, record are thoroughly available any time and any place.  This is not just a problem for someone with a felony criminal charges or misdemeanor criminal charges but also people who have been charged with traffic offenses or summary offenses like underage drinking, disorderly conduct, public drunkeness or retail theft.  These criminal and “non-criminal” charges leave an imprint or blemish on your record and remain there for any record check company, investigator or busy body to find unless you have sought to expunge your record.  Ciccarelli Lawyers expunge criminal records throughout Pennsylvania, including Chester, Berks, Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.

A criminal record is normally a list of crimes, violations, and infractions that an individual has been accused to have committed.  A criminal record is a record of a person’s criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. In most cases it lists all non-expunged criminal offenses and may also include traffic offenses such as speeding and drunk-driving. In some cases, the record is limited to actual convictions (where the individual has pleaded guilty or been declared guilty by a qualified court) while in others it also includes arrests, charges dismissed, charges pending and even charges of which the individual has been acquitted.

A criminal record in Pennsylvania can limit an individual’s ability to get or keep a job, obtain credit, and blemish his or her reputation.  A criminal record expungement or pardon is the means to clean your record and get a second chance.

Expungement proceeding is a type of  proceeding or lawsuit in which a first time offender of a prior criminal conviction seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed or destroyed, thereby making the records unavailable through the state or Federal repositories.   If successful, the records are said to be “expunged”.  While expungement deals with an underlying criminal record, it is a civil action in which the subject is the petitioner or plaintiff asking a court to declare that the records be expunged.

A very real distinction exists between an expungement and a pardon. When an expungement is granted, the person whose record is expunged may, for most purposes, treat the event as if it never occurred. A pardon (also called “executive clemency”), on the other hand, does not “erase” the event. Rather, it constitutes forgiveness. In the United States, an expungement can be granted only by a judge, while a pardon can be granted only by a governor (for state law offenses) or the President (for federal offenses). Each jurisdiction whose law allows expungement has its own definitions of expungement proceedings. Generally, expungement is the process to “remove from general review” the records pertaining to a case. In many jurisdictions, however, the records may not completely “disappear” and may still be available to law enforcement, to sentencing judges on subsequent offenses, and to corrections facilities to which the individual may be sentenced on subsequent convictions.

A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by the Govenor of Pennsylvania for Pennsylvania criminal charges.  The pardon process is an admistrative process where an application for pardon is filed with the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons.   A pardon is often granted when an individual has demonstrated that they have fulfilled their debt to society, or are otherwise deserving (in the opinion of the pardoning official) of a pardon. Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Some believe accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of guilt, so in some cases the offer is refused (cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon).

Our office is experienced in counseling and representing our clients in pardon matters in Pennsylvania.