Posted on October 25, 2018 at 3:49 pm.
Have your file sealed
In our previous posts, we discussed two important ways to avoid getting a criminal record in Georgia. In this post, we cover how to get your file sealed after you plead guilty as a first offender.
The primary advantage of the first offender is that they can protect you from a criminal record. However, your record shows your first offender status until you complete your sentence. In other words, you must complete your entire trial period before receiving the full benefits of first-time offenders. The only alternative is for your attorney to ask the judge to seal your file while you’re on probation.
What does sealing your file do?
OCGA 42-8-62.1 allows the sentencing judge to order that public access to your first offender status be restricted while you complete your sentence. When pronouncing the sentence, the judge can order up to three things. First, it can prohibit the dissemination of the first offender sentence. Second, she can require that all case information be sealed by the court clerk and not available to the public. Third, it can direct law enforcement agencies to restrict public access to information about your first offender status.
On the one hand, in order for the judge to seal a file, the law requires that she “balance the public interest in the information from the defendant’s criminal records being publicly available.” And on the other hand “weigh the damage to the defendant’s privacy and then issue written statements of fact”. Your attorney should be willing to argue how it would harm you if you don’t seal your file. For example, you may not be able to find a good job or provide for your family if your file is not sealed. Your attorney should also argue that the public has no interest in knowing your criminal record. For example, the crime may be victimless, a low-level misdemeanor, or a one-off event.
Sealing your record is a great tool your attorney can use to keep your record clean while you complete your first criminal sentence. By limiting public access to your first offender status, file sealing can help get your life back to normal as soon as possible.
