Will Expunged Criminal Records Show Up on Background Checks in New Mexico?
Everyone makes mistakes. However, when a mistake leads to a criminal conviction, that conviction can haunt a person for the rest of their life. Having a criminal record can affect many aspects of your life, including your pursuit of employment and housing opportunities.
Fortunately, New Mexico law allows you to expunge criminal records if your conviction qualifies for an expungement. But will your criminal records show up on a background check after the expungement in New Mexico?
Do Expunged Records Show Up on a Background Check?
The answer is no. When your prospective employer or anyone else performs a background check on you, they will not see any information related to your expunged convictions, charges, and arrests.
After you have successfully expunged criminal records, they will not be accessible to anyone who conducts a background check.
At the Law Office of Todd J. Bullion, we can assist you in getting your criminal charges expunged. If you have been charged with a crime in Albuquerque, contact our criminal defense lawyer to defend you against the charges and avoid a conviction.
Which Criminal Records can be Expunged in New Mexico?
In 2020, New Mexico passed a law that allowed people with a criminal record to get qualifying offenses expunged. The law is known as the New Mexico Criminal Record Expungement Act (CREA).
However, not all crimes qualify for an expungement under the CREA. You cannot get your criminal records expunged if you were convicted of:
- DUI or DWI offense
- Sex crime
- Crimes resulting in serious injury or death
- Crimes against children
- Embezzlement
All other criminal offenses qualify for an expungement in New Mexico. To obtain an expungement, you must fill out the expungement form.
Your ability to expunge criminal records also depends on whether you were convicted or not. To qualify for an expungement in New Mexico, you must wait for at least a year after your case has ended to file the petition for expungement.
Note: During that period, you should not be arrested or charged with any crime to be able to obtain an expungement.
You can get your record expunged regardless of whether you pleaded guilty or your criminal case went to trial and resulted in a guilty verdict. The amount of time you are required to wait to obtain an expungement depends on the type and nature of the committed offense.
How to Obtain an Expungement in New Mexico
Just because your offense is expungeable does not necessarily mean that your petition to get an expungement will be approved automatically. That is not how it works.
Instead, the judge assigned to your case will consider a number of factors to approve or deny your expungement request:
- The type of the offense
- The seriousness of the offense
- The consequences of the offense
- Your prior criminal record
- Your employment history
- How much time has passed since you finished your sentence
- Your ability to convince the judge to wipe your criminal record clean
The last factor plays a pivotal role in the success of your expungement case. The judge will consider the reason why you want to get an expungement. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you prepare compelling arguments to convince the judge that you have been rehabilitated since the conviction.
Even seemingly minor inaccuracies or weaknesses in your expungement case can result in the denial of your request. For this reason, it is critical to seek help from an Albuquerque criminal defense attorney to prepare a compelling expungement petition. To learn more about how to expunge criminal records in New Mexico, contact an attorney.
At the Law Office of Todd J. Bullion, our founding attorney Todd J. Bullion will zealously protect your rights and interests and help you get your life back on track. Schedule a free initial consultation by calling (505)452-7674 or sending an email.