New Eligibility Requirements for Juvenile Record Sealing in Michigan

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Record Gone

On December 28, 2012, Michigan Public Act 527 went into effect and amended the eligibility requirements for juvenile record sealing.
The previous law only allowed for a single juvenile offense to be sealed after an individual reached the age of twenty-four.

The new law allows a person to seal their juvenile adjuducations as long as they have no more than three offenses that would not have been considered a felony if the same offense was committed by an adult. A person becomes eligible for sealing either one year after the imposition of disposition, one year after completion of detention for the adjudication, or once a person becomes eighteen years old, whichever date comes latest.

Multiple adjudications for offenses that occurred within a twelve hour span of time and were motivated by a single intent may be considered a single adjudication for the purposes of sealing.

The law does not allow for the sealing of traffic offenses or any offense that would carry a life sentence as an adult.

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RecordGone Now Serving Indiana

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Record Gone

indiana record clearingRecordGone, a DBA of Higbee and Associates, is now serving Indiana and offering record clearing services. These services include expungement, restricted access, felony reduction, firearm rights restoration, and more. The national law firm offers record clearing services in fourteen other states and Indiana will be the fifteenth.

If you have a criminal record in Indiana please take our free eligibility test to see if you are eligible to clear it.  If eligible, there will be information regarding the service and price.  If you are not eligible, a new law may come into effect on July 1st that would make many eligible.  Therefore, we suggest you contact us after that date if you not currently eligible.

RecordGone prides itself on clearing over 10,000 cases and helping client with the highest levels of customer support. The law firm has earned “A” ratings from the Better Business Bureau for five straight years and offers a low-price guarantee on almost every service.

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Mathew Higbee Testifies About Expungement Laws to California State Senates Committee On Public Safety

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Record Gone

Attorney Mathew Higbee was the lead witness in support of Senator Roderick Wright’s bill to expand the benefits of California’s expungement law. The bill, SB 530, is expected to be approved by the committee.

sb530 hearing

Higbee explained to the committee that, despite California’s many innovative programs designed to help former offenders, California’s expungement law still leaves many former offenders set-up to fail.

“In many ways, California is very progressive and innovative when it comes to helping former offenders. We provide drug treatment, continuing education, job training and even tattoo removal. But California does not remove the one thing that many other states do, and that is the label of criminal. California’s law governing expungement and other post-conviction remedies are inadequate, as a result, all of those investments in rehabilitation and training are marginalized— leading to unnecessary unemployment, under-employment, and waste of human capital,” said Higbee.

The current version of SB 530 expands the eligibility for certificate of rehabilitation and codifies a regulation that prohibits employers from discriminating against people with an expunged conviction. Higbee says that the bill will likely be amended to provide bigger benefits to more people.

“I am expecting the bill to create a new legal remedy that will allow some offenders to have convictions removed from their Department of Justice report, commonly know as a Live Scan report,” said Higbee.

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Pennsylvania Senate Bill Redefines Expungement Laws

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Record Gone

senator tim solobay expungement law

State Senator Tim Solobay recently reintroduced a bill, Senate Bill 391, to allow for more leniency in expungement law. The current law states that crimes other than summary offenses can not be expunged until after the offender turned 70 years old or has been deceased for more than three years. With the new bill, which was officially amended on February 12, 2012 with a 14-0 vote, individuals who have misdemeanors of the 3rd and 2nd degree can apply to have the records expunged if they have kept a clean record for 7 and 10 years respectively.

Democratic Senator Tim Solobay is adamant about getting this bill to pass after a similar senate bill, Senate Bill 1220, failed to make it to a floor vote. Solobay has been cited stating that the major intent of this bill is to offer more opportunities for former offenders to find jobs, and consequently lower recidivism rates. If this Bill passes, those who are eligible under the new expungement law can potentially change their lives and remove the stigma that follows a criminal judgment.

This bill however, does not apply to all misdemeanor offenses. Specifically, it does not apply to offenses punishable by more than one year in prison or pertaining to certain forms of assault, sex offense, cruelty to animals, firearms offenses, and certain other crimes. The bill also notes that expungement is not automatic and will still be granted solely at the discretion of the court.

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Higbee & Associates (RecordGone) Wins Major CA Appeals Case On Unfair Competition Law

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Record Gone

The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates, which operates Recordgone.com, scored a major victory today in the fight against non-attorneys engaging in the unauthorized practice of law by offering expungement related services.  The victory comes in the form of a published California appeals case that makes clear that attorneys can, in some instances, sue non-attorneys for unauthorized practice of law.

The California Court of Appeals published its ruling in Law Offices of Mathew Higbee v. Expungement Assistance Services.

recordgone-wins-major-ca-appeals-case

The case may be of special importance to lawyers, said attorney Cynthia Underwood, one of the attorneys who worked on the case.  “This case also makes it clear that lawyers can sue those who are engaging in unauthorized practice of law,” said Underwood.  “Unauthorized practice of law is a wide-spread problem that law enforcement cannot effectively prevent it by itself.  This case will allow attorneys to assist the public and protect their law practices by filing lawsuits to stop unauthorized practice of law.”

This case stems from a California Superior Court case, filed in January of 2008, where a law firm, The Law Offices of Mathew Higbee, sued a Kentucky based business, Expungement Assistance Services (EAS), for unlawful acts, including fraud and the unauthorized practice of law.    The Law Offices of Mathew Higbee, which later became the Law Firm of Higbee & Associates, operates RecordGone.com.  Expungement Assistance Services (which later became EAS Technologies LLC), operated ClearMyRecord.com (which later became ShredMyRecord.com).

Higbee alleged that the fraudulent and unlawful acts by Expungement Assistance Services were hurting consumers as well as the law firm.

The trial court ruled that the law did not allow a plaintiff who had no business dealing with defendant to sue the defendant.   The Court of Appeals unanimously disagreed with the trial court, and even directed the clerk of the court to send a copy of the opinion to the Attorney General, presumably for law enforcement action.

The published opinion can be found at http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G046778.PDF

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