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Rhode Island Expungement of Criminal Records

 

If you or a loved one is arrested and charged with a crime in Rhode Island, your immediate worries are probably about things like jail time, fines, and how to get an experienced criminal attorney who can ensure you receive the best possible outcome. The fact that you will now have a criminal record – regardless of the outcome of the case – likely isn’t even something that enters your mind.

 

But it should. Unlike many of those other penalties mentioned above, having a criminal record is a punishment that you will have to carry with you your whole life. This may not seem like such a bad thing, but consider this: every time someone performs a background check on you, they will see your criminal record. And what kinds of people and agencies are most often doing background checks? Potential employers. Banks. Credit card companies. Landlords.

 

What do you think your chances are of landing that job, leasing that amazing apartment, or opening new credit cards or loans if people know of your criminal history? Not very good, unfortunately. People with a criminal history are generally considered “high risk,” meaning that the person looking at your record is far more likely to just move on to the next person.

 

Luckily, a process called expungement exists that allows some people in certain circumstances to seal, erase, or otherwise destroy their criminal record so that no one in the public will be able to view it. In fact, as far at the public at large will be concerned, your arrest and charges won’t even exist.

 

Expungement Eligibility in Rhode Island

 

The state does not believe that it can just let anyone who commits any crime later expunge that offense, so Rhode Island’s expungement laws apply only to first time offenders. By definition in Rhode Island, a first time offender is a person who has never before been put on probation or received a conviction for a misdemeanor or felony.

 

The process is, however, open both to misdemeanor and to felony charges. A copy of the individual’s conviction records can be provided upon request by the Department of Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Identification Unit. It should be noted that there is a cost associated with obtaining these records.

 

Rhode Island allows any first time offender criminal charges to be expunged with the exception of those that the state has defined as crimes of violence. These crimes include:

 

  • first degree arson
  • manslaughter
  • murder
  • robbery
  • larceny (of an individual)
  • kidnapping with intent to extort
  • first degree sexual assault
  • first degree child molestation
  • second degree sexual assault
  • second degree child molestation
  • assault with intent to murder
  • assault with intent to rob
  • burglary
  • larceny
  • sexual assault
  • entering a dwelling or house with intent to murder
  • assault with intent to commit first degree sexual assault

 

Rhode Island’s Expungement Procedure Laws

 

Every state has different rules and regulations involving expungement. In Rhode Island, the person is required to wait a specified length of time after the crime was committed before they can petition for expungement. How long someone must wait before they can petition depends on two factors: one, the classification of the crime for which expungement is being sought; and two, the individual receiving no further criminal convictions.

 

Someone wishing to have a misdemeanor offense expunged must wait to apply for 5 years after all pending cases, convictions, or probation periods have been completed. For those attempting to have a felony expunged, the wait is even longer – 10 years.

 

Once the required time has passed, the person seeking expungement must file a motion to the court where they were convicted. The Attorney General’s Office will then approve or deny the expungement after 10 days, depending on whether they believe that it is in favor of the court. Deciding whether or not to grant an expungement is at the sole discretion of the judge looking at the petition. Before deciding, he or she will consider factors including the nature of the convictions, how the person has behaved up till that time, how successful their rehabilitation has been, how expunging this record would help the larger community, and the offender’s moral character.

 

If the records are to be expunged, a notification will be sent to the police department that arrested the individual telling them to expunge the files for that particular case. Certified copies of the court order granting expungement will also be sent to the probation department and the Attorney General, and each department is required to destroy the records they hold that are related to the case.


 

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