Arrest: Beginning of the Criminal Justice Process

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

An arrest occurs when someone is taken into custody and that person is prohibited to move about of leave. Sometimes the use of handcuffs or physical restraint is not necessary. An arrest is already complete when the police officer tells the suspects that they’re “under arrest.” So generally, an arrest can be described as a person’s involuntary or voluntary submission to a police officer’s exercise of authority over him or her.

A police officer can only arrest a person under the following circumstances:

• *The officer personally observed a crime – for example, the officer sees an actual purse snatching,   then he or she may arrest the purse-snatcher.
• *The officer has “probable cause” – when the officer has reasonable circumstances, facts, or belief that a particular person is about to commit or committed a crime, then that person may be arrested. For example, the officer received a call reporting armed robbery in a liquor store and then he sees the suspect with a gun and cash running down the street, then that man may be arrested.
• *The officer obtained a warrant to arrest – this is a legal document issued by any magistrate or judge to allow any officer to arrest the suspect.

If this happens to you, you can question the lawfulness of your arrest including the actions of the officer. However, this battle should be fought in court together with a criminal attorney rather than fight it on the street.

Tags: arrest, criminal attorney, criminla, custody, police officer, suspect
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Effects and Eligibility for Expungement

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Expungement is a process ordered by the court wherein a legal record such as an arrest or criminal conviction is erased. The availability and procedure of expungement varies according to the county or state where the arrest or the conviction occurred.

In order to qualify, there must be certain standards met to be eligible for expungement. These factors include:

• -Amount of time elapsed since the arrest/conviction.
• -Events in the criminal record of the applicant (including arrests/convictions in other states)
• -The nature and severity of the arrests/convictions (i.e. a sex offense conviction may be denied for expungement)
• -The nature and severity of other arrests/convictions in the criminal record of the applicant

When a person’s criminal record is expunged, he or she may not mention the arrest or conviction record. For example, this record does not need to be disclosed in renting an apartment or applying for a job. Also, no record will appear if the potential employer conducts a background search.

An expunged record is actually not completely erased. However, it cannot be accessed easily. The limited accessibility is only open to the criminal courts, law enforcements, and other government agencies. This is sometimes referred as “under seal” criminal records.

Tags: arrest, court, Criminal, criminal conviction, expungement, legal record
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