Law for The Poor

Sexual imposition
Obscenity or pornography involving a minor
Serious weapons charges
Most jurisdictions have laws that allow - and in some states even require - the
expungement of juvenile records once the juvenile reaches a certain age. In some
cases, the records are destroyed; sometimes they simply are "sealed." The purpose of
these laws is to allow a minor who was accused of criminal acts, or in the language of
many juvenile courts, "delinquent acts," to erase his record, typically at the age of 17 or
18. The idea is to allow the juvenile offender to enter adulthood with a "clean slate,"
shielding him or her from the negative effects of having a criminal record.
States have taken significantly different approaches when it comes to expungement for
controlled substance violations such as marijuana and hashish. Typically, only
convictions of possession or possession with the intent to distribute are eligible for
expungement. Factors such as the weight/amount of the particular substance, age of
the offender, and the number of offenses may impact eligibility for expungement as well.
For example, in New Jersey, the threshold is 25 grams for marijuana and 5 grams for
hashish if the offense occurred when the offender was 21 years of age or younger.
Procedures for obtaining an expungement are different in each state, but tend to follow
a similar process:
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