When you are arrested for any crime, your number one priority should be fighting for your freedom. You should also be concerned with the impact that charges and the arrest will have on your record, whether you are convicted or not.
If you have been charged with your first offense, there may be some post-adjudication action that a criminal attorney can take on your behalf. A first-time offender will have a much better chance of getting a dismissal or an expungement than a person who has a long rap sheet would.
If you and your attorney do decide your case merits post-adjudication, you should know the difference between a dismissal and the expungement of a criminal record.
When a case is dismissed, there is still a record of it with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The general public will be able to do research on your case and discover what you were charged with. They will also see that the case was dismissed and the circumstances under which it was dismissed.
When your criminal record is expunged, the public record of the crime is destroyed. The police will keep a copy of your file for their records, but there are only a handful of circumstances under which that information will be disclosed. There are some government offices that may obtain those records if you apply for a job with the government or for a job working with children.
What is required for an expungement?
You cannot have a criminal conviction expunged. A criminal record can only be expunged if the case was dismissed if they arrested you and then drop the charges, if you were never charged at all, or if a grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to move forward with your case.
What happens when a case is dismissed?
According to this URL, a motion to dismiss is a part of the pre-trial procedure in a Florida criminal case. A motion to dismiss is often filed if prosecutors have not followed the proper protocol when arresting or charging an accused person. It may also be filed if the statute of limitations on a particular crime was up, or if the president of the United States or the governor of a state has pardoned the accused.
Motions to dismiss do not work the way they do on television. No good criminal attorney will ever file a motion to dismiss if the client simply says that the arresting officer was lying. The whole point of having a criminal trial is to determine if someone is guilty based on evidence. The motion cannot take the place of a trial.
A motion to dismiss must be in writing and signed by the accused and their attorney. It must be filed before the defendant's arraignment. The exception to this rule is if a defendant has been pardoned, the case falls under double jeopardy. The defendant has been granted immunity, or when there is no prima facie evidence for the case. Prima facie simply means "at first appearance." In order to arrest somebody and charge them with a crime, law enforcement must have some basic evidence showing why they thought this person was guilty in the first place.
An experienced attorney will be able to help you and get your case dismissed if you believe that it should be. Once your case is dismissed, they can help you to get the record expunged.
Nothing is more horrifying than being accused of a crime. Knowing the law and hiring the right lawyer can make all the difference in ensuring your freedom.
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