NC added punishment years after my crime? Could this be a class action?

Samsung8 · #1 08-22-2011, 06:12 PM

25 years ago I had a speeding ticket that was a misdemeanor. The internet did not even exist at the time. Now, when I Google my name, the 3rd listing to show up is a link to my "criminal record" on the NC Department of Justice website, which is an invasion of my privacy and harmful to my reputation and business.

How is fair to impose this additional public punishment on me years after my crime in a medium that did not even exist when I was sentenced?

I live in North Carolina, is this the type of thing that a law firm might take on as a class action for all of the people given this additional punishment years after their crimes?

aardvarc · #2 08-22-2011, 06:58 PM

Any unexpunged criminal record is considered "pubic". Public records aren't an invasion of privacy, and criminal histories in particular are only limited in specific cases (ie juveniles, sex crimes). The only difference is that it's more easily accessible these days. But even prior to the internet, anyone who wanted to see your criminal history could do so. It's not that some previously undisclosed information has been made accessible - it was ALWAYS accessible - now it's just easier to find (and there is case law from here to the moon where the courts have held that the public's right to know takes precidence over sheilding a PUBLIC record).

Your solution is to seek to have the record either sealed (which removes it from public view), or expunged (which removes it from both pubic view AND official records). You'll need to check your specific circumstances against NC's expungement law, which you can find at:

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascript...pl?statute=15a

Scroll down to Article 5, and see if any of the potential expungeable circumstances match with yours.

If you're eligible for expungement, and the misdemeanor ticket has been your only infraction, it shouldn't be a difficult process, especially given the vast amount of time passed between then and now. If you are able to obtain an expungement, it's vital that you make sure that the clerk of court sends a copy to the Dept of Corrections so they can remove the record.

Samsung8 · #3 08-23-2011, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aardvarc

Any unexpunged criminal record is considered "pubic". Public records aren't an invasion of privacy, and criminal histories in particular are only limited in specific cases (ie juveniles, sex crimes). The only difference is that it's more easily accessible these days. But even prior to the internet, anyone who wanted to see your criminal history could do so. It's not that some previously undisclosed information has been made accessible - it was ALWAYS accessible - now it's just easier to find (and there is case law from here to the moon where the courts have held that the public's right to know takes precidence over sheilding a PUBLIC record).

Your solution is to seek to have the record either sealed (which removes it from public view), or expunged (which removes it from both pubic view AND official records). You'll need to check your specific circumstances against NC's expungement law, which you can find at:

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascript...pl?statute=15a

Scroll down to Article 5, and see if any of the potential expungeable circumstances match with yours.

If you're eligible for expungement, and the misdemeanor ticket has been your only infraction, it shouldn't be a difficult process, especially given the vast amount of time passed between then and now. If you are able to obtain an expungement, it's vital that you make sure that the clerk of court sends a copy to the Dept of Corrections so they can remove the record.

Thank you aardvarc, I will look at your solutions.

I think there is a huge difference between having a public record out there that can be searched at the courthouse and having an internet-searcheable result come up when people search for my name online.

When I sped, that wasn't supposed part of the punishment!

I appreciate your time and direction!

moderator · #4 08-27-2011, 12:21 PM

I agree with aardvarc on this one. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.