Expungement Eligibility Timeframes
How Long Do I Have to Wait to Expunge or Set Aside a Conviction in Oregon? Senate Bill 397 took effect last January 1, 2022, in which the Senate created new provisions regarding the set-aside and expungement timeframe every eligible offender must consider. In other words, the eligibility wait times for felonies and misdemeanors have…
Read MoreExpungement Court Hearings
Must I Appear Before a Judge to Set Aside a Conviction? If you or your attorney properly investigated your case, there should be no need to appear for a hearing before a judge. A set aside in Oregon is fairly black and white. You are eligible or you are not. It is a waste of…
Read MoreExpunging or Setting Aside Convictions in Oregon: Everything You Need to Know
How Soon Should I Petition to Expunge or Set Aside? They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and this is never truer than when taking steps to have your rights restored. Pursuing a felony expungement should be undertaken as soon as possible because laws and circumstances can change. Simply…
Read MoreHow to Get Your Felony Expunged For Free in Oregon
Table of Contents Toggle What is Expungement?Rules of EligibilityWhich Felonies Can Be Expunged?The Expungement TimelineThe Expungement ProcessRemoving your Information from Internet Background Checks Free Expungement in OregonForms You Need for Free ExpungementShould You Attempt Expungement on Your Own?Talk to Lohrke Law About Expunging Your Felony If one or more felony convictions that happened years ago continue…
Read MoreBuying a Gun with a Criminal Record in Oregon
The right to bear arms is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. This right is reiterated in the Oregon Constitution as well. In the aftermath of certain criminal offenses, however, these rights may be suspended or revoked. Adults in Oregon who wish to buy firearms are forbidden from doing so if they have been convicted of…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Guide to Owning a Firearm in Oregon
Table of Contents Toggle What Types of Firearms Can I Own? Purchasing a Gun in Oregon How and Where You May Use Firearms Concealed Carry in Oregon Open Carry in Oregon Discharging a Firearm in Oregon Pointing a Gun Self-Defense with a Firearm in Oregon Who Can Possess a Firearm in Oregon? Who Cannot Own…
Read MoreRestoring Firearm Rights Despite a Felony Conviction
One of the consequences of a felony conviction in Oregon is revocation of the right to possess a firearm through the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Even if the conviction was many years ago and an isolated event, the loss of the right to purchase and own a gun continues in perpetuity. Thankfully,…
Read MoreHow Many Felonies Can be Reduced to Misdemeanors
Navigating Felony Reduction in Oregon: Your Comprehensive Guide Felony reduction is a legal process that can alleviate the burdens associated with a felony record. By reclassifying a felony conviction into a misdemeanor, individuals with most Class C or certain Class B felonies under Oregon law can experience a fresh start, even years after the original…
Read MoreOver-Prosecution Costs Billions in Lost Productivity
Anybody with a felony record knows very well the challenges of finding decent employment and housing. The clear result of felony prosecutions is that good potential workers are kept out of the productive labor force. A report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research states that this under-employment actually reduces the productivity of the…
Read MoreRights Restoration Options Besides Expungement or Set Aside?
We think of Rights Restoration as a hierarchy. At the top is expungement or set aside, which makes the conviction disappear. You can’t get better than that. If you cannot expunge or set aside, the next best thing is to turn a felony into a misdemeanor. This is done through a law that allows a…
Read MoreCan Rights be Restored if Money is Still Owed in a Case?
In our experience, all fines, fees, and restitution must be paid off before people can set aside a conviction. A reduction requires at a minimum to be up to date with a payment plan. The laws do not explicitly discuss money owed, but they do discuss complying with the sentence of the court, which arguably…
Read MoreHow do I Answer Background Check Questions after a Set Aside or Expungement?
When an Oregon conviction is set aside, it gives the person the ability to act and answer as if the conviction never occurred. The purpose of the set aside statute is to enhance employment and other opportunities, so it would not make sense if a person had to admit to a set aside conviction. To…
Read MoreCan I Restore my Rights if I Have a Felony Vehicle Conviction?
Convictions for felony vehicle crimes cannot be set aside, but they can be reduced to misdemeanors. Oregon Revised Statute 161.705 allows a Class C Felony to be reduced to a Class A Misdemeanor. Felony reduction to misdemeanor applies to convictions for criminal as well as vehicle crimes. Once a felony conviction is properly reduced to…
Read MoreCan I Set Aside or Expunge a Conviction if My Probation was Revoked?
Revocation of probation does not prevent expungement or set aside, but it is a factor the judge can consider. When a criminal defendant is sentenced to probation, he is ordered to comply with certain requirements of probation. If he does not comply with those terms, the probation can be revoked and incarceration imposed. Despite the…
Read MoreIs a Juvenile Delinquency Record Automatically Expunged?
A number of states in the country automatically seal or expunge certain types of juvenile offense records at the conclusion of court proceedings or once the juvenile offender has reached a certain age. Unfortunately, Oregon is not one of these states. The overwhelming majority of juvenile convictions are eligible to be expunged once the offender…
Read MoreCan My Driver’s License be Restored After a Lifetime Revocation?
In Oregon, a person’s driving privileges are revoked for life after a third Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) conviction. However, ten years after the revocation, Oregon Law ORS 809.235 provides that a person whose driving privileges were revoked for life can ask a judge that they be restored. In order to restore driving…
Read MoreDo Municipal Court Arrests and Convictions Show up on my Criminal Record?
Because of global accessibility to digitized information and record keeping, data sharing across local, state, and federal governmental agencies has become the norm. The result has been clients who have had municipal court convictions from the 80s, 70s or even 60s pop up on a background check, preventing them from getting an apartment, being hired…
Read MoreWill Setting Aside or Expunging a Conviction Allow Me to Pass a Background Check?
After a successful set aside, the conviction is removed from official records and should not show up in a background check. Oregon law allows you to deny the conviction ever occurred, because under the law it is deemed not to have occurred. While official records can be cleaned up, non-governmental holders of criminal histories, do…
Read MoreFive Things to Know About Rights Restoration in Oregon
1. Expungement clears criminal records Expungement in Oregon is a complete restoration of your rights. Records of the arrest and conviction, including police records, are destroyed and you are allowed to deny the arrest and conviction ever occurred. Only in very limited circumstances can a court reopen a sealed file. If all of your…
Read MoreWhy do I need to Provide a Fingerprint Card with my Motion to Set Aside?
Every motion to set aside in Oregon must be accompanied by an FBI-standard fingerprint card. This applies to set asides for arrests as well, not just convictions. This part of the process can seem invasive, especially given that for many crimes people were never even fingerprinted in the first place. However, the purpose of the…
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