01/03/2025
The new year has us all thinking about a clean slate: health-wise, finances-wise, family-wise, whatever-wise.
Truth is, though, we always carry our old selves into the new year. That's not always a bad thing: our old selves can be wonderful teachers if we take the time to learn from their mistakes and do the work not to repeat them.
But sometimes our old selves can hold us back, too. Especially if that old self ran into the criminal-legal system. If that's true of you, you know all too well how old you is holding current you back. So maybe it's time for current you to look into getting your record cleaned up.
Here are the top 3 things getting an expungement can help with:
1. Earning ability. The average expungement recipient's wages rise 22% within a single year because of new job and licensing opportunities.
2. Restoration of civil rights. Some places don't allow felons to vote or sit on juries. A conviction of any sort could potentially impact hunting or self-defense rights. Expungements often have the knock-on effect of restoring these rights.
3. It's a weight off your shoulders. It's nice to have external validation of the work you've done on yourself, especially if it comes from that same prosecutor who prosecuted you in the first place and that same judge who sentenced you in the first place.
If the old you is holding the current you back, make 2025 the year where that ends.