questions & answers

Question: If I was convicted of a misdemeanor for petty theft as a juvenile how do I get the record expunged? I am a straight A student with a dream of becoming a doctor and I don’t want my stupid decisions as a teenager to affect my future. Is it possible to destroy the record completely to the point where I don’t need to mention it to future employers?

Answer: While Arizona does not offer expungement or record sealing except in very specific and rare cases, Arizona does offer its own version of relief called setting aside a conviction. The applicable statute in Arizona is A.R.S. § 13-907, which states that “Every person convicted of a criminal offense, on fulfillment of the conditions of probation or sentence and discharge by the court, may apply to the judge . . . to have the judgement of guilt set-aside." Essentially, a conviction that is set-aside is treated as if it has been revoked or cancelled. In order to have a conviction set-aside, you must first fulfill the requirements of your conviction (i.e. complete all community service hours or pay any fines). Upon fulfilling the terms of the conviction, you will need to petition the court to set the conviction aside. The court will then review the petition and either approve or deny it. As you go through the process of getting your conviction set-aside, you should be aware that your record will not be fully erased. In other words, if you consent to a background check for employment purposes, your record will show the past conviction, but will note that it was set-aside. This means that a court of law set aside the judgment of guilt and released you of all “penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction.” This is a great way to broach a difficult subject and get your side of the story out before your prospective employer discovers the prior record.