Record Sealing and Set-Aside Lawyer in Scottsdale, AZ

Arizona offers three kinds of record relief, and they are not interchangeable. A set-aside under A.R.S. 13-905 sets the guilty judgment aside and orders the complaint, information or indictment dismissed, yet the history stays public with a notation added. Sealing under A.R.S. 13-911 takes the case records off public access. Expungement, the word most people search for, exists in Arizona only for qualifying marijuana offenses under A.R.S. 36-2862. Many people can use both, a set-aside first and sealing later.

Relief comes from the court that decided the case. The Maricopa County Justice Courts say so on their record-clearing page: a petition goes to the specific court that adjudicated the case, and justice, superior and city courts may each use their own forms. A Scottsdale case usually sits in one of three places.

Scottsdale City Court, for a city misdemeanor. The court's Applications and Petitions page carries its own forms: an application to set aside a judgment together with a Certificate of Second Chance, a petition to seal criminal case records, a separate certificate application for someone whose set-aside was granted without one, and a petition to expunge marijuana offense records. Filings go by email to [email protected], by fax to 480-312-2764, or by mail or the lobby drop box at 3700 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251.

A county justice court, for a misdemeanor written by DPS or the Sheriff's Office, or from just outside city limits. The justice courts handle set-asides, sealing and marijuana expungement on their own forms. The county lists McDowell Mountain Justice Court's territory as including Scottsdale, but the court named on your old paperwork is the one to petition.

Maricopa County Superior Court, for a Scottsdale felony. Its Law Library Resource Center publishes a sealing packet along with separate forms to set aside a Superior Court conviction, to expunge a marijuana case resolved there, and to restore civil rights.

No conviction at all? An arrest that never became a charge, a dismissal and an acquittal can each be sealed, and none of them has to wait out the conviction clock; the city's own list says acquitted or dismissed cases may petition immediately. Under 13-911(C), that petition belongs in the court where the charges were brought, or, if no charges were filed, the court that held the initial appearance, or, when there was neither, Superior Court for the county where you were arrested.

Waiting periods and money. For a conviction, the city's petition page repeats the statute's clock, which starts at discharge, after the non-monetary terms are finished: a decade for class 2 and 3 felonies, five years for class 4 through 6 felonies, three for a class 1 misdemeanor and two for class 2 and 3 misdemeanors. Money follows a separate, strict rule. Every fine, fee and restitution payment has to be paid in full when the petition goes in, and the city's form says not to proceed if the answer to any of its threshold compliance questions is no.

Scottsdale's own procedure. On a set-aside, the court says it is the applicant's job to make sure the prosecutor's office receives a copy. Every petition type carries a minimum wait before any ruling (see the timing question below), and a slow criminal history report from the Department of Public Safety can push the ruling back. The court may hold a hearing or decide without one, and it mails the order to the address on the application, so keep that address current.

One caution: the court's sealing page warns that a case record published or distributed before sealing may still be accessible and may not be affected by the order.

Rebuilding the old case. Start with the court, the case number and the exact charge. Scottsdale City Court releases records on written request only and will not take a request by phone; Scottsdale cases can also turn up in the court's online lookup and on the Arizona Supreme Court's public access site. The city's sealing page also points petitioners to DPS, (602) 223-2000.

Checking eligibility. We confirm each conviction's class, the exclusions, the discharge date and that nothing is still owed.

Making the case for relief. On sealing, the statute tells the court to grant the petition when doing so is in the petitioner's best interests and the public's safety. On a set-aside, the court weighs the offense and its circumstances, how probation went, other convictions before or since, victim input and restitution, the time since the sentence ended, how old you were at the time, and whatever else bears on it. A petition that only checks boxes gives the judge very little to work with.

The other side's turn. On a sealing petition, the clerk sends the prosecutor a copy; the prosecutor can answer it and request a hearing, and any victim who asked for postconviction notice hears about it and may speak. On a set-aside, the State or the victim has thirty days from the filing to object. The city's sealing form adds that a hearing has to be requested before the court rules, not afterward, and that you must tell the court about any new charge while the petition is pending.

After the order. When sealing is granted, DPS marks the records sealed and informs state and federal law enforcement, and in most settings you may say you were never arrested for, charged with or convicted of that offense. That right yields for fingerprint clearance card applications; for jobs with law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, probation departments, child welfare agencies and corrections; for certain driving, caregiving and money-handling jobs tied to the kind of offense sealed; wherever state or federal law requires disclosure; and in several other listed cases, including any sealed class 2 or class 3 felony drug offense.

What stays. A sealed record can still be alleged as an element of a later offense, used as a historical prior felony conviction, used for impeachment and used to enhance a later sentence, including under the DUI statutes; a set-aside conviction can likewise be alleged as an element or used as a prior. If a sealing petition is denied, a new one has to wait three years, and that is the practical reason to get the first one right. If you are not a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration lawyer before relying on any of these remedies.

Nova Law Group was built by Ryan Tait, a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. The practice is criminal defense first. We keep caseloads deliberately low, which means the lawyers on your case have time to actually read the old reports and court records line by line. We prepare a record petition the way we prepare a contested case: documented, specific and ready for an objection. Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee. Consultations are free and confidential.

Office: 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. It is our only office, and Scottsdale clients meet with us there by appointment.