Need help getting a job? A North Carolina Certificate of Relief could help

A certificate of relief removes some of the civil disabilities that arise from a criminal conviction, especially in the employment context. Below is a brief description of the benefits, eligibility, procedures, and evidentiary standards for certificates of relief in North Carolina.  If you need help getting a job and an expungement is not available then a Certificate of Relief Might Help.  If you believe you are eligible for a certificate of relief, please call the law Offices of Wiley Nickel at 919-585-1486.

Benefits

Transforms all automatic civil disabilities into discretionary civil disabilities, EXCEPT:

-          Sex offender registration

-          Possession of a firearm by a felon

-          Motor vehicle license, revocation, or ineligibility

-          Criminal Justice Officer and Sheriffs certification

-          Employment as corrections or probation officer

-          Employment as prosecutor or investigator in NCDOJ or District Attorney’s Office

-          Any disability enacted by federal law or in the NC Constitution

-          Considered favorably in discretionary decisions (ex. most occupational licensing decisions)

-          Provides evidence of due care to private employers in negligent hiring lawsuits

-          Demonstrates that the recipient is not an “unreasonable risk to the safety or welfare of the public”

Certificate of Relief is NOT an expunction or pardon

-          An individual granted a certificate of relief still has a criminal conviction on their record that is visible to anyone.

Eligibility

-          1 misdemeanor or 1 Class G, H, or I felony conviction= eligible

-          2 misdemeanor or 2 Class G, H, or I felony convictions (convicted in same session of court)= eligible

-          2 or more convictions in different sessions= not eligible

-          1 Class A, B, C, D, E, or F felony conviction= not eligible

Procedure

-          A Petition and Order for a Certificate of Relief is filed with the court by our office. 

-          A district attorney may appear at the hearing; the victim of the underlying crime may also appear

Evidentiary Standard

-          Petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not):

-          Twelve months have passed since the person completed his or her sentence

-          The person is engaged in or is seeking to engage in a lawful occupation or activity

-          The person has no criminal charges pending

-          The person has complied with all requirements of the person’s sentence

-          Granting the petition would not pose an unreasonable risk to the safety or welfare of the public or any individual

Not Eligible for an expungement? A certificate of relief might help!

Many people who seek to have records of their charges expunged do not fit into the narrow categories available to have their charges expunged.  If a criminal conviction is preventing you from gaining employment or hurting you in some other way a "certificate of relief" could be the thing to get you moving forward with your life.  Call to speak with an attorney at the law offices of Wiley Nickel at 919-585-486 for a free consultation to see if a certificate of relief can help where an expungement cannot help.

The basic requirements for relief, contained in new G.S. 15A-173.2 for a "certificate of relief" are as follows:

1. The person must have been convicted of no more than two Class G, H, or I felonies or misdemeanors in one session of court and have no other convictions for a felony or misdemeanor other than a traffic violation.
2. The person must petition the court in which the convictions occurred (District or Superior Court)
3. The person must establish certain matters by a preponderance of the evidence, including that twelve months have passed since the person completed his or her sentence, that the person is engaged in or is seeking to engage in a lawful occupation or activity, and that the person has no criminal charges pending.

If granted, a certificate of relief applies to two types of collateral consequences: “collateral sanctions,” defined as a penalty, disability, or disqualification imposed by operation of law, such as a mandatory bar on obtaining a license for a particular occupation; and “disqualifications,” defined as a penalty that an agency, official, or court may impose based on the conviction, such as a discretionary bar on an occupational license. A certificate of relief relieves the person of all automatic “collateral sanctions” except for those listed in new G.S. 15A-173.3 (for example, sex offender registration requirements and firearm disqualifications); those imposed by the North Carolina Constitution or federal law (for example, the state constitutional ban on holding the office of sheriff if previously convicted of a felony and the federal bans on federally-assisted housing and food stamp benefits for certain convictions); and those specifically excluded in the certificate. A certificate of relief does not bar an entity from imposing a discretionary “disqualification” based on the conviction, but the entity may consider the certificate favorably in deciding whether to impose the disqualification. A certificate of relief also does not result in an expunction or pardon of the conviction; a person must use other mechanisms, if available for the conviction in question, to obtain those forms of relief.