Juvenile Record Expungement

As everyone is aware, having a criminal record can be detrimental to an individual in many ways including limiting employment options and social stigma. Criminal records remain in the state system unless you make an effort is made to expunge that record. This also applies to juvenile records.

Pennsylvania law provides a mechanism for the expungement of juvenile records provided the individual wishing to have his or her record expunged meets a number of requirements. The act provides that expungement of records of juvenile delinquency cases wherever kept or retained shall occur after 30 days’ notice to the district attorney, wherever the court upon its motion or upon the motion of a child or the parents or guardian finds:

1. A complaint is filed which is not substantiated or the petition which is filed as a result of a complaint is dismissed by the court;
2. Six months have elapsed since the final discharge of the person from supervision under a consent decree and no proceeding seeking adjudication or conviction is pending;
3. Five years have elapsed since the final discharge of the person from commitment, placement, probation or any other disposition and referral and since such final discharge, the person has not been convicted of a felony, misdemeanor or adjudicated delinquent and no such proceeding is pending seeking such conviction or adjudication; or
4. The individual is 18 years of age or older, the attorney for the Commonwealth consents to the expungement and a court orders the expungement after giving consideration to a number of factors.

Therefore, if you have a juvenile record and you wish to have it expunged, you must get the District Attorney’s approval if the offense occurred within the last five years. If it has been more than five years since the offense occurred, you do not need the District Attorney’s approval, but you still must obtain a court order. If you have a juvenile delinquency record and would like to have it expunged, contact my Pittsburgh law office, Gusty A. E. Sunseri & Associates, walk you through the process.