A criminal charge against you can severely impact your future. The best thing you can do to keep charges from destroying your future is to find out if you have pending charges as early as possible, which you can do by searching Utah’s database of state records. If you find out that there are pending charges against you, you should get in touch with an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately. Here, Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyer Darwin Overson from Overson & Bugden will explain how you can find out if there are pending charges against you in Utah, what it means for background checks, and what you can do when the charges are made against you.
How to Find Out If There Is a Warrant Out for Your Arrest in Utah
In Utah, you can find out if there are pending charges against you in a few different ways. One way is to use the Utah Statewide Warrant Search provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety. It can be accessed by visiting their website and entering your name. You can also find out if there are pending charges against you in Utah by calling the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which can be reached by calling (801) 965-4445. Finally, you can find out if you have pending charges by getting in touch with the clerk of courts in your country, which you can find by using the Utah online court directory system.
Note that you shouldn’t handle pending charges on your own. As soon as you find out about your pending charges, you should get in touch with an experienced criminal defense lawyer as quickly as possible. They can help you understand your pending charges and craft a legal strategy for you to help fight the charges.
Which Charges Appear on a Background Check
If you do end up being convicted for the crime you are being charged with, it’s good to be prepared with knowledge of whether or not the charges will appear on background checks performed by potential employers or landlords. The crimes that appear on a background check depend on the type of background check that is performed. Most employers only run criminal record checks (and some only search for felonies, not misdemeanors), which will only show criminal convictions, not driving records or court records. Traffic offenses, arrests, pending charges, and dropped and dismissed charges will not appear on this type of background check. Traffic offenses will appear if they do a search of your driving record and arrests, and probation violations will appear if they do a court record check.
Expunging Your Criminal Record in Salt Lake City
It’s natural to worry about criminal convictions appearing on a background check in the future. To keep your criminal record from haunting you and impeding your access to opportunities, you can have your arrest or conviction expunged from your record. In Utah, you’re able to expunge an arrest or conviction from your record regardless of when the arrest or conviction happened.
It is important to note that expungement does not mean that your criminal history disappears; it only means that it is hidden from the public. After expungement, your record can only be accessed by certain government officials or the Utah court under specific conditions.
Expungement Eligibility in Utah
You can only have your arrest record or criminal record expunged if you meet specific criteria. You can request an expungement of an arrest, investigation, and detention for a crime you were not convicted of it if 30 days have passed since the arrest, you do not have any criminal cases pending, and one of the following events occurred: no criminal charges were filed against you, the charges that were filed against you were later dismissed with prejudice, the charges that were filed against you were later dismissed without prejudice, you were acquitted of the charges at trial, or the statute of limitations to file charges against you ran out.
If you would like to expunge a criminal conviction from your record, there are certain restrictions. Firstly, you cannot begin the process of expunging your record if you have not paid all of the fines, fees, and restitution connected to your case. Note that you cannot expunge criminal convictions for child abuse crimes, sexual offenses that require sex offender registry, DUIs, felony vehicular homicide, and capital, first degree, or violent felonies. You cannot expunge a criminal conviction if you have another criminal case pending, you provide the court with false or misleading information in your petition, or committed certain crimes multiple times.
The Cost of Expunging a Criminal Record in Utah
To begin the process of expunging a criminal record, you must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from Utah’s Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI). It costs $65 to apply for this certificate. Also, you will have to pay all of the fines and fees and other financial penalties connected to your charges to expunge it from your record. If you use an expungement and record sealing attorney to help you with your expungement (which is recommended), you will be responsible for paying lawyer fees as well.
Criminal Defense Lawyer Serving Salt Lake City
If you discover that charges are pending against you in Utah, don’t waste any time getting in touch with an experienced criminal defense attorney. The Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyers at Overson & Bugden are eager to help people avoid or mitigate their criminal charges. To schedule a free and confidential legal consultation to discuss your case, call Overson Law at (801) 758-2287.
