If you have a criminal conviction on your record, it can follow you for the rest of your life. A criminal record creates difficulties when you’re seeking employment, applying for a firearms permit, and performing other types of activities that others take for granted. Seeking a pardon (also called an expungement) can help you put a difficult past behind you so you can move forward with your life.

What Can a Pardon Do?

In Connecticut, a pardon can remove a criminal conviction from your record or, at the very least, minimize its ability to affect your future. If granted, you would no longer have to list the conviction on things like employment applications since, from a legal point of view, the incident did not take place. Seeking a pardon is not easy, but can be well worth the effort.

What is the Pardon Process?

If you are seeking a full pardon, you may apply to Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles three years after the date or disposition for your most recent misdemeanor conviction and/or five years after your last felony conviction.

You will need to prepare and submit specific documentation to the Board, including police reports for each offense if the arrest occurred within the last ten years. You also need to justify why you deserve the pardon, which is more difficult than it sounds. It is highly recommended that you work with an experienced Connecticut pardons attorney, so you have the best possible chance at being approved.

Types of Pardons in Connecticut

There are three different pardons that you can apply for. Your attorney will help you identify the option that is most likely to result in a successful application.

• Full Pardon: Also known as an expungement, this is what most people think of when seeking a pardon. The convictions in question will disappear from your record and no longer show up on any background checks.
• Conditional Pardon: A conditional pardon will also erase the convictions from your criminal record so that they don’t show up on background checks. As the name implies, however, this type will come with one or more conditions, such as agreeing to attend drug counseling, parenting classes, or something else related to your conviction. If you don’t comply with the agreement, your conditional pardon can be revoked.
• Certificate of Employability: This option does not actually remove the conviction from your record. Instead, the state will grant you a Certificate of Employability, which lets you hold workplace licenses (teaching license, CDL, etc). The biggest benefit is that once you have the Certificate of Employability, it becomes illegal for employers to deny you employment based on your criminal record.
  

All three of these pardon options will provide you with some very significant benefits. If you want to seek any type of pardon in the state of Connecticut, please contact The Sills Law Firm to schedule a free consultation. You can speak with an experienced attorney to help determine whether you are likely to qualify for a pardon, and if so, how to best move forward.

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