Expunging a juvenile’s record

Every parent in Charlotte likely hopes that their children can look to the future and find it rife with opportunities. Those opportunities, however, can quickly become limited if a youth is convicted of a crime. A lack of experience and judgment can often lead kids and teens to do things that, given the greater degree of maturity that comes with age, they otherwise wouldn’t. Indeed, information shared by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shows that as recently as 2017, over 809,000 juvenile arrests were made in the U.S. That represents over 809,000 youths whose actions could place their future prospects for success in jeopardy.

Fortunately, those included in that number who hail from North Carolina have the opportunity to have their criminal convictions expunged from their records. According to information shared by the Juvenile Law Center, one can indeed have offenses committed while still a minor removed provided they meet the following criteria:

• They are 18 years old
• 18 months has passed since they were released from juvenile court jurisdiction
• They have not been convicted of any other misdemeanor or felony offenses (either in North Carolina or any other state)

Certain crimes, however, cannot be removed from a juvenile’s record. Those would include any offenses that would have constituted a Class A, B1, B2, C, D or E felony had they been committed by an adult cannot be expunged.

Many often ask what effect an expungement has. While the state does maintain the names of those juveniles who have had their records expunged, the individuals and their families can go with their lives as of the offense had never occurred. They cannot even be compelled to admit that they were convicted of offenses as juveniles even under the threat of being charged with perjury.