Expungement info in NJ

Expungement info in NJ source https://www.njcourts.gov/forms/10557_expunge_kit.pdf?c=qGX If you are filing for an expungement of only the marijuana or hashish offenses included in N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.1, you only need to complete the Petition (Form A) and the Expungement Order (Form C). If you use the Cover Letter to Court - For Filing (Form D), you should delete the reference to the Order for Hearing in the first sentence because you do not need to attach the Order for Hearing (Form B) with your petition. You do not need to complete the • Verification (Form A – Continued) page, • Order for Hearing (Form B), • Cover Letter – Notice of Hearing (Form E), or the • Proof of Notice (Form F). All other expungements use the following instructions, starting at Step 1. STEP 1: Request State Police Criminal History Record – Fingerprint Check (This step is only necessary if you do not already have your criminal/juvenile history information about your arrests, charges and dispositions) In order to obtain your criminal/juvenile history record (also known as a rap sheet) from the New Jersey State Police you will need to be fingerprinted. The State Police use the electronic fingerprint scanning services of a private company, IDEMIA USA. You will need to contact IDEMIA USA to schedule an appointment for fingerprinting. You can obtain additional information and schedule an appointment via the internet at www.bioapplicant.com/nj, or by calling their toll free telephone: 1-877-503-5981. Additional information about obtaining criminal/juvenile history record checks can also be obtained from the New Jersey State Police website https://www.state.nj.us/lps/njsp/ or by calling their Criminal Information Unit at 609-882-2000 ext. 2918. Note: The State Police will have a criminal/juvenile history only if you were fingerprinted when you were arrested. If you were not fingerprinted, and only a complaint was signed against you when you were arrested, you will still have a record with the police department and the court, but you will not have a record sheet within the Division of State Police, State Bureau of Investigation. STEP 2: Complete the following forms: Petition for Expungement (Form A) The Petition for Expungement states that you are requesting an Expungement Order and states why you qualify. Complete the Petition for Expungement Order by following the instructions for Form A. You must then file the petition in the county where you were arrested or prosecuted as an adult or taken into custody or adjudicated as a juvenile. If you were involved in multiple cases in more than one county, contact the Criminal Case Management Office in either county and ask whether they will allow you to file for expungement of your entire record in that county. However, if you are filing a petition for expungement solely on a conviction for a disorderly persons or a petty disorderly persons offense, you must file the petition in the county where the most recent disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense was adjudged. If you are filing a petition for expungement as a result of successful graduation from drug court that occurred prior to April 18, 2016 you must file in the county where you graduated. Next, you must complete the Verification page and sign it in the presence of a Notary Public because this page must bear a notary seal. Order for Hearing (Form B) The Order for Hearing is used by the judge to schedule a hearing. The Superior Court judge assigned to your case will usually schedule a hearing between 35 and 60 days after he or she gets your petition. Fill out the Order for Hearing by following the instructions for Form B. Steps for Filing Kit updated 06/2020, CN 10557 (How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record) page 5 of 36 How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record STEP 3: File and Serve the Forms Make three (3) copies of your notarized Petition for Expungement (Form A), Order for Hearing (Form B), and proposed Expungement Order (Form C). The original and two (2) copies should be filed with the court. Keep one copy of each for your records. Form D - Cover Letter - For Filing The Cover Letter - For Filing is a form letter that describes to the Superior Court Criminal Case Management Office the contents of your package and the purpose of the enclosed forms. Fill in the blanks on the Cover Letter (Form D) and attach the Cover Letter to the originals and the two photocopies that you are filing (keep one copy of each for your records). Include two large self- addressed envelopes with the appropriate postage stamped on each envelope. These envelopes will be used to send filed copies of your package back to you. Mail this package to the Criminal Case Management Office in the county where you were arrested/taken into custody and/or where the prosecution/adjudication occurred. If you were involved in multiple cases in more than one county, mail this package to the Criminal Case Management Office in the county which has allowed you to file for expungement of your entire record. If you prefer, you may file this package in person. A list of the Criminal Case Management Offices where these forms should be mailed, along with telephone numbers, appears at the end of this guide. Step 4: Distributing the Filed Copies One copy of the Petition for Expungement, Order for Hearing, and the proposed Expungement Order will be mailed back to you marked “Filed” and assigned an “Expungement Docket Number.” The Order for Hearing will also state the time and the date for your hearing. Immediately after receiving the filed copies from the court, make at least seven (7) copies of the Petition for Expungement, Order for Hearing, and the proposed Expungement Order. Mail one copy of each, immediately, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each of the following government agencies that were involved with your case(s): • The Attorney General of New Jersey. • The Superintendent of State Police, • The County Prosecutor. • The administrator of the municipal court if a municipal court heard the matter. • The Chief of Police or other head of the police department where the offense was committed or the arrest was made. • The chief law enforcement officer of any other law enforcement agency of the State that participated in the arrest. • The Warden or superintendent of any institution in which you were incarcerated. • The County Probation Division should be provided a copy if you were granted a conditional discharge, conditional dismissal, enrolled into the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI), enrolled in a juvenile diversion program (Juvenile Conference Committee or Intake Service Conference), granted a deferred disposition, performed community service, owed fines or restitution or you served a term of probation. If your case was transferred to another county for supervision, you should send the information to the original county probation office and the county probation office where your supervision was transferred. • The Division of Criminal Justice, Records and Identification Unit should be provided a copy if your case was processed through the State Grand Jury. Form E - Cover Letter - Notice of Hearing You may use the Cover Letter - Notice of Hearing (Form E) when mailing the copies to these agencies. Fill in the blanks on the Cover Letter (Form E) and attach the Cover Letter to each set of copies. You should mail the copies of these forms right away, because the law requires service or mailing within five (5) days from the date that the Order for Hearing was signed. Mail them at the post office, by certified mail, return receipt requested which can be done by electronic means (see Note in box below). Form F - Proof of Notice After you have received the certified mail return receipt cards or the electronic confirmation of mailing from the post office, contact the Criminal Case Management Office, and ask the clerk whether the court requires that the proof of mailing be submitted at or prior to the hearing. If proof is Expungement Unit. Kit updated 06/2020, CN 10557 (How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record) page 6 of 36 How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record required to be produced at the hearing, make sure that you bring the green certified mail return receipt cards or the electronic confirmation of mailing (see box below) and the Proof of Notice (Form F) to court with you on the day of the hearing. Complete the Proof of Notice form by following the instructions for Form F. If proof is required to be submitted prior to the hearing, make sure that you bring or mail the green certified mail return receipt cards or the electronic confirmation of mailing and the Proof of Notice (Form F) to the Criminal Case Management Office immediately. If you choose to mail this information to the court, you should send it by certified mail, return receipt requested. It is a good practice to call the court the day before the hearing to confirm that it is still on the court's calendar. For Granted Expungements - Distribute Your Finalized Expungement Order Immediately after you receive a copy of the Expungement Order signed by the judge and stamped “Filed” by the court, mail a copy of the Expungement Order, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each of the following: • The Attorney General of New Jersey. • The Superintendent of State Police, Expungement Unit. • The County Prosecutor. • The administrator of the municipal court if a municipal court heard the matter. • The Chief of Police or other head of the police department where the offense was committed or the arrest was made. • The chief law enforcement officer of any other law enforcement agency of the State that participated in the arrest. • The Warden or superintendent of any institution in which you were incarcerated. • The Records Division of any institution in which you were incarcerated. • The Identification Bureau in the county where the arrest was made or where you were incarcerated (a list of County Identification Bureaus appears at the end of this guide). • The County Probation Division should be provided a copy if you were granted a conditional discharge, conditional dismissal, enrolled into the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI), enrolled in a juvenile diversion program (Juvenile Conference Committee or Intake Service Conference), granted a deferred disposition, performed community service, owed fines or restitution or you served a term of probation. • The Division of Criminal Justice, Records and Identification Unit should be provided a copy if your case was processed through the State Grand Jury. • The County Family Division should be provided a copy if you are requesting the expungement of any juvenile delinquency matters. NOTE: Under N.J.S.A. 1:1-2, “Certified Mail” is defined as including “private express carrier service, provided that the private express carrier service provided confirmation of mailing. Confirmation of mailing may be made by electronic means, and shall include, at a minimum, confirmation of fact of mail, time of mailing, date and time of delivery, attempted delivery, signature, or other similar information for confirmation or proof associated with the delivery service.” Step 5: Go to the Hearing Arrive at the court on your assigned hearing date about 15 minutes early. (Not all counties require you to appear for the hearing. If your appearance is not required, you must mail the Proof of Notice and the green return receipt cards or the electronic confirmation of mailing to the Criminal Case Management office where you filed your petition, at least one week before the scheduled hearing.) If you are required to appear, take your copies of the filed Petition for Expungement, the Expungement Order, and the green return receipt cards or the electronic confirmation of mailing to the hearing (unless you previously filed them with the court). When you arrive at the court, tell the court clerk that you are there. If any law enforcement officers object to the expungement, they will tell the judge the reason. The judge may ask you some questions and will decide whether to grant or deny you an expungement. If there is no opposition, the judge will, in most cases, grant your expungement. If no law enforcement officers object to the expungement, the court may order the expungement of your records without a hearing. If this happens, you will receive a signed and filed Expungement Order in the mail. Kit updated 06/2020, CN 10557 (How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record) page 7 of 36 How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record Form G - Cover Letter - Notice Expungement Granted You may use this Cover Letter - Notice Expungement Granted (Form G) when mailing the Expungement Order to these agencies. Fill in the blanks on the Cover Letter (Form G) and attach the Cover Letter to each set of copies. Keep the mailing receipts and the green cards that are returned to you or the electronic confirmation of mailing as proof that the documents were received. In Conclusion As a final reminder, make sure that you have completely followed all of the steps required in this guide. This is very important because even though your records may be eligible for expungement, if you miss any of the required steps, your Petition for Expungement may be denied. In that case, you will have to start over. We have tried to explain as simply as possible the steps to get your records expunged. The forms that you can use are in the following section. If you have questions, contact the Criminal Division in the county where you are filing for the expungement, or the local Judiciary Ombudsman Office.