Erasing a Painful Past

Question

In 1987, I was convicted for possession of cocaine while in the U.S Air Force. I was sentenced to 20 months. I am looking into whether I could have it expunged from my records, since I am now 36 years old and have not had anything on my record since the old conviction. What can I do?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, you probably will not be able to get that aged conviction off the books. 

If it was a federal conviction, you would be able to apply for expungement only if, among other things, you were placed on probation; from your description, it seems you were not. If the offense was prosecuted by a state, you have an outside chance of getting the record sealed; in truth, however, this seems like an extreme longshot, since the length of your sentence suggests that the offense was considered to be fairly serious.

Do not lose heart, however. If you have lived a law-abiding life ever since those bad old days, surely you can argue to prospective employers and others who are likely to learn of the conviction that it was but a youthful indiscretion. As America ages and reflects, there seems to be much more understanding of past indiscretions, if not current youthfulness.