After your Florida expungement attorney has drafted and filed your petition to seal your record, he/she will then set the matter down for hearing before a judge. Up until this point in time, the role of your expungement attorney has been mostly clerical. Meaning, the expungement attorney’s job has entailed filling out forms, collecting documents, obtaining certificates from the government, as well as drafting and editing your petition. During the argument phase, your expungement lawyer will argue the merits of your petition to a judge.
STEP 3: The Argument Phase
The argument phase of sealing your record concerns the portion of your case where the petition is argued in court. Of all the phases required to successfully seal a record in Florida, the argument phase is certainly the most important phase of the entire process. Up until the point in time where you walk into a courtroom, the question in your case is very simple… Do you qualify to have your records sealed?
Based on the facts of your case and your background the answer is usually very clear. However, just because you qualified to have your records sealed does not mean that a judge will agree to seal your record.
Because the decision to either grant or deny your petition to seal a record is discretionary with the judge, it is very important to hire the right expungement attorney. To be successful at this crucial stage of your case, a Florida expungement attorney must have skill in the courtroom.
If your lawyer cannot command the attention of his or her audience, then you know you do not have the right attorney for your case. Hiring a lawyer who does not have the right skills in the courtroom will undoubtedly put you at a major disadvantage.
In my opinion the best expungement lawyers are ones with the following characteristics:
- First and foremost, and expungement lawyer must know how to speak convincingly in a courtroom.
- Second, your expungement attorney must be able to formulate a winning argument to the judge that is both easy to understand and convincing at the same time.
- Third, and expungement lawyer must know the law and understand the procedure required to bring your case to a judge. The worst thing that could happen to you in the courtroom is presenting a petition to seal your record that is spatially insufficient because your expungement lawyer either forgot or did not know to include the required elements.
- Finally, your expungement lawyer needs to present an air of professionalism about him or herself. This means that he or she must have a professional look and not appear disheveled. It also means that he or she must be prepared when they walk into the courtroom, knowing the facts of your case including all the necessary details that the judge will need to hear to make his or her decision.
In other words, to have the greatest chances of winning your petition, you must hire the kind of expungement attorney that commands respect. If the presiding judge looks at your expungement lawyer and sees a disheveled, unprepared mess that judge will certainly be less inclined to agree to seal your record.
When making the decision to hire a Florida expungement attorney, it is a portal to question that attorney about his or her experience. The worst thing that a person could do is make a decision strictly based on cost. While there are plenty of cheap lawyers out there, good lawyers who get results are hard to come by.