Sealing of records

Court proceedings are a matter of public record. However, the court has the power to seal court records. Some records are automatically deemed confidential such as doctor and patient correspondence, sessions with a licensed mental health professional, sexual assault victims and juvenile records. If information disclosed during a trial is harmful to the plaintiff or defendant, file a motion to seal the court record.

The public policy of record sealing balances the desire to free named citizens from the burdens caused by the information contained in state records while maintaining the state's interest in the preservation of records that may be beneficial to the state or other citizens.

In many cases, if you seal your record, you gain the legal right to deny or fail to acknowledge anything to do with the arrest and the legal proceedings from the case itself.

Records are commonly sealed in a number of situations:

• Sealed birth records (usually for so-called closed adoption, in which the birthparents' identity is usually anonymous)
• Juvenile criminal records may be sealed
• Other types of cases involving juveniles may be sealed, anonymized, or pseudonymized ("impounded"); e.g., child sex offense or custody cases
• Cases using witness protection information may be partly sealed
• Cases involving trade secrets
• Cases involving state secrets

Seal and Expunge Process in Florida

FDLE provides a service through which certain criminal records can be expunged (removed from our records) or sealed (placed under highly restricted access).

The laws and rules which govern expunction or sealing of criminal history record(s) include: Sections s.943.0585 - s.943.059, Florida Statutes and Chapter 11C-7, Florida Administrative Code.

Sealing Juvenile Court Records in California

One of the best things you can do for your child is to get his or her juvenile records sealed as soon as possible.

The benefits of sealing your juvenile records are as follows:

• When your child's records are sealed, the records of arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction are physically sealed.
• The offense is deemed to have never occurred.
• You can start adulthood on a "clean" state.
• You can help prevent losing a good job because of a prior juvenile matter.

Although juvenile records are confidential, any job that requires a live scan could reveal your prior criminal case. The live scan will show a criminal history with both the FBI Data Base and the California Department of Justice Data Base. In many instances, this could prevent you from obtaining employement or the immediate termination of employment. We highly recommend you getting a live scan on your own so that you can see what exactly a prospective employer may be looking at. These live scan facilities are located thru out California. A list of reputable live scan facilities are located on the Department of Justice website. The cost to do a live scan is approximately $40.00 and a print out from the Department of Justice is Sacramento will be sent you within 7 to 10 days. The website link is www.ag.ca.gov

Nevada Record Sealing Laws

Specifically, the Nevada Revised Statutes state:

All proceedings recounted in the record are deemed never to have occurred, and the person to whom the order pertains may properly answer accordingly to any inquiry, including, without limitation, an inquiry relating to an application for employment, concerning the arrest, conviction, dismissal or acquittal and the events and proceedings relating to the arrest, conviction, dismissal or acquittal.

When you have been arrested or convicted of a crime in Nevada, the information regarding your arrest, criminal charges, conviction and sentencing will show up on your criminal record. This information is available for anyone in the general public to see. Your criminal record can be accessed through hundreds of websites over the Internet, along with several other methods.

A lawyer with extensive record sealing experience can help you decide whether or not you qualify under Nevada law to have your record sealed. By having your Las Vegas record sealed you can have any arrests, criminal charges, convictions or sentencing on your record permanently sealed. Also, if you seal your Nevada record, you gain the legal right to deny or fail to acknowledge anything to do with the arrest and the legal proceedings from the case itself. By sealing your Las Vegas records, you'll be eligible for jobs that would otherwise exclude you based solely on your criminal history as well as professional licenses and other civic liberties.