An Assault Record's Negative Impact
Criminal sanctions like fines and jail time are hard enough, but the criminal record that a conviction leaves has its own negative impact beyond fines and jail time. Having a criminal record makes things harder, including important things like getting housing, a job, or a loan, or getting into college or a vocational program.
A New Jersey assault conviction under N.J. Stat. § 2C:12-1 is no exception. Assault is a crime of violence. Employers, landlords, banks, and schools can infer from an assault record both a person of danger and poor character, and risks to safety, security, and reputation. Anyone having an assault conviction should want it expunged. If you have an assault record that you hope to expunge, then contact New Jersey expungement attorney Joseph Lento at the Lento Law Firm now by calling (888) 535-3686 or going online.
What Is a New Jersey Assault?
Under N.J. Stat. § 2C:12-1, a New Jersey assault, what other states call battery or assault and battery, comes in both simple and aggravated forms. A simple assault is a disorderly persons offense in most cases, while an aggravated assault is an indictable offense in the second, third, or fourth degree, depending on its circumstances. The difference between simple assault and aggravated assault is important to expungement, as explained below.
N.J. Stat. § 2C:12-1 states that a simple assault in most cases involves purposely, knowingly, or recklessly injuring another, or attempting to do so. By contrast, aggravated assaults in most cases involve purposely or knowingly causing or attempting to cause serious injury to another, or using or pointing a deadly weapon, or committing a simple assault on certain persons, including but not limited to a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency personnel, school employee, judge, public-transportation operator, corrections employee, or utility employee.
The Benefit of Expunging an Assault Record
New Jersey's expungement law, N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-1 et seq., is a powerful statement of America's commitment to reform, restoration, and a full and free second chance, declaring us to be a people of mercy and grace. The purpose of expungement is to give you a fresh start or second chance without the burden of a criminal record. Expungement allows you to tell others who ask that you have no criminal record, including if your expunged conviction involved the violent crime of assault.
Expungement also means that employers, landlords, lenders, and others who search criminal records find none after expungement. Under N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-1, expungement includes “the extraction, sealing, impounding, or isolation of all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement or criminal justice agency concerning a person's detection, apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition of an offense within the criminal justice system.” An expunged assault record should not show up in searches of these government records. If you are ready for the benefit of New Jersey's expungement law, then retain New Jersey expungement attorney Joseph Lento now.
Expunging an Assault Record
New Jersey's expungement statutes, N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-1 et seq., are remarkably long and complex. They also have significant recent amendments that executive order delayed through the pandemic. Determining whether one can expunge an assault record can depend on several particulars of the conviction or convictions, including especially the offense type, number, date, and grouping of assaults. Do not determine from this or any other summary whether you can expunge your assault record. Instead, contact New Jersey expungement attorney Joseph Lento to review your specific matter.
Simple Assault. In general, and with other conditions and exceptions, one who has a record of up to five simple assaults may qualify under N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-3 for expunging those simple assault convictions. New Jersey's expungement law includes this separate statute for expunging disorderly persons offenses and petty disorderly persons offenses, of which simple assaults are one form.
The statute's conditions for expunging a simple assault include that the person seeking expungement must not have other criminal conditions and must ordinarily wait five years from the most recent conviction, release from incarceration, payment of all related fines, and completion of probation or parole. Relief from the five year wait may be possible in the case of financial inability to pay the related fine.
Aggravated Assault. Another expungement statute N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-2 for indictable offenses rather than disorderly persons offenses may, with certain exceptions and conditions, permit a person to expunge a record of an aggravated assault. Aggravated assault is not among the many crimes of violence like murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, and arson, for which the statute refuses expungement. In general, though, one may only expunge a single aggravated assault conviction, not multiple aggravated assaults or an aggravated assault and other indictable offense convictions, unless the multiple convictions were all under one judgment of conviction.
The indictable offense expungement statute N.J. Stat. § 2C:52-2 does permit expungement of a single aggravated assault when combined with up to three disorderly persons offenses. The aggravated assault, though, cannot be a sexual assault. And the lengthy statute has several other potentially applicable exceptions and conditions. Expunging an aggravated assault record is possible but not easy.
Why Retain NJ Expungement Attorney Lento
Not only are New Jersey's expungement statutes extraordinarily long and complex, but expungement procedures are also highly technical. You must be able to show that you meet the statutory requirements. Your expungement request must be in the form that the statute requires, and the court expects, or the court will reject your request even if you should be able to qualify. Expungement laws can also leave some room for judicial discretion and interpretation.
When you retain New Jersey expungement attorney Joseph D. Lento to prepare and submit your expungement request, you are showing the court that your expert counsel is ready to demonstrate convincingly that you qualify for expungement of your assault record. Your chances of obtaining expungement increase dramatically with the advice and representation of New Jersey expungement attorney Joseph Lento. Contact the Lento Law Firm now by calling (888) 535-3686 any day or night or going online here.
