Expunge Criminal Conviction

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Citation Details
Title: Thou shalt not expunge Mobile Press Register, Inc. v. Lackey.(Alabama)
Author: Brian Overstreet
Publication: Jones Law Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Page: 13(18)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Thou shalt not expunge Mobile Press Register, Inc. v. Lackey.(Alabama): An article from: Jones Law Review

Expungement Attorney Tamara Holder CHICAGO (Jan. 15, 2007) — If Tamara Holder didn’t exist, a screenwriter might be thinking her up right this minute. Young, blond, beautiful, whip-smart attorney — make her a just little bit wild back in high school — stakes out her legal territory where no one else wants to go: helping convicted felons clear their records, getting pardons or “disappearing” their convictions with expungements, while also practicing criminal defense for clients from every walk of life. Here, truth trumps fiction and Tamara Holder is living her own reality show. Just two years out of John Marshall Law School, she’s the lawyer to see when you need to clear your name — to her knowledge, the only attorney in Chicago, and perhaps all of Illinois, focusing on expungement of arrest or criminal records and seeking of pardons. She is also, as above, blonde, beautiful, better than bright, and all of 27 years old. (“I graduated high school, college, and law school early,” she explains.) Her first love is criminal defense, but once she realized the disastrous impact a criminal record can have on an individual’s life, she decided to focus on people needing expungements or pardons. And since a chance meeting with Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., she has devoted Monday evenings to helping all who attend an ad hoc session on expungement at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s headquarters, 930 W. 50th St. in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Yet these pro bono walk-ins are far from …

This piece looks at how American criminal convictions can effect the Immigration process.

In the rather recent past, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (also referred to as USCIS) officers were not particularly concerned with an individual’s criminal history so long as they were an American Citizen petitioning on behalf of a foreign fiancee or spouse. With the passage of legislation such as the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA), and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) this rather laid back attitude changed. Presently, an individual’s criminal record could have a negative impact upon their ability to act as a Petitioner for an American visa. In many cases, a waiver of some sort is necessary where the Petitioner has been convicted of certain offenses. This may also be the case even where the Petitioner has committed relatively minor offenses, but committed enough offenses so as to require a USCIS waiver.

In any American Immigration case, those with a criminal record are usually well advised to seek legal counsel from a licensed US Immigration attorney as one’s criminal record could have a detrimental impact upon one’s ability to petition for immigration benefits. The right to legal advice regarding immigration matters for criminal defendants was recently enshrined in the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky. The Court in that case found that an alien defendant in the USA has a right to counsel regarding the immigration ramifications of criminal pleadings. Even though this decision preserves the right to counsel for defendants in criminal proceedings whose plea could affect their legal status in the USA, it also vividly demonstrates how important it is to receive competent legal advice before making any decision that could have any impact upon later immigration proceedings.

US Immigration law can be perplexing for some, in the recent past it was viewed by the public as more clear-cut. After 09/11/2001 the American government reorganized the agencies traditionally involved in the US Immigration process. The result was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which has jurisdiction over most of the agencies tasked with processing visas to America. That being said, the State Department also remains a significant agency in the visa process. Since the creation of new laws curbing immigrants’ and petitioners’ rights it would seem that more people are turning to American lawyers for assistance because an experienced American Immigration attorney is often able to provide insight about strategies to streamline the overall immigration process.

Originally published here.