RESTRICTING YOUR RECORDS IN GEORGIA

IF YOU WERE CONVICTED OF A FELONY IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA, YOU MAY HAVE OPTIONS TO RESTRICT YOUR RECORD AND SEAL YOUR CASE FROM PUBLIC ACCESS.

RETROACTIVE FIRST OFFENDER:

Many individuals do not realize they may be entitled to have their first lifetime felony removed from their criminal history despite their case being closed. Our office is often contacted by persons looking to have their firearm rights restored, and only have one prior felony conviction. In those cases, it is not necessary to go straight to the restoration process. You may be able to instead petition the Court of original jurisdiction to have your record restricted by applying first offender status to the prior conviction. This process is done by motion to the Court and our office has a 100% success rate in having our motions granted. If your petition is granted, the GBI will remove your felony conviction and nothing further needs to be done. You would no longer be a convicted felon and would enjoy all your rights without further action. This would automatically restore your rights to purchase and possess a firearm. Our fees start at $2,500 and may vary depending on the jurisdiction of your case.

RECORD SEALING WITH A PARDON:

If you are granted an Official Pardon by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, you may be eligible to have your case(s) sealed by the Court. While this does not affect your right to possess a firearm, it may be beneficial with employment, housing, education, etc. Having your case sealed means that your conviction is sealed from public view and limits access to court records.

Specifically, newly passed Georgia Law provides that when an individual was convicted of an offense for which that individual has been granted a PARDON from the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and if the offense is eligible (not a serious violent felony or a sexual offense) and the individual has not been convicted of any new crime (excluding a non-serious traffic offense) since the pardon was granted, they may petition the court to restrict access to criminal history record information. The court will hear evidence regarding the petition and shall grant an order restricting the criminal history record information if it determines that the harm otherwise resulting to the individual clearly outweighs the public's interest in the criminal history record information being publicly available.

It is important to have an Attorney represent you with this process, given the complexity of the process and the Court requiring an in-person hearing before the presiding Judge.

Our office provides this service for fees starting at $2,000 and would vary depending on the jurisdiction of the request, on a case by case basis.