The biggest reason you want an experienced criminal defender on your side when you’re accused of something is because of the future consequences. Handling the initial penalties for the crime is rarely where it ends for someone convicted- they may feel as though it’s hard or impossible to shake the impacts of a criminal record.

Being accused of a crime is always a serious matter but being convicted can carry significant consequences. If you have ever been arrested, you know there is more to worry about than just the actual act of the arrest. One of the primary concerns for most people in this situation is whether this arrest or ultimate conviction will show up on the record for the rest of their lives.

Many criminal defense attorneys understand that fighting for clarity and removal of items from your criminal record is often the primary goal of criminal defense. In addition to staying outside of jail, protecting your precious record from being hit and showing up in employment or housing checks in the future, is extremely worthwhile. While no agency makes it their personal mission to tell an employer about a charge that an employee could be dealing with, it is a matter of public record after an arrest has been obtained. Unless you or someone else tells that you have been arrested for a crime they are unlikely to find out unless they run a criminal background check.

However, the law does allow for arrest on a charge to be public record even if you were not convicted of anything. This is why it is especially important to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who sees all potential implications of you being accused of a crime and does everything possible to protect you and your reputation well into the future. There is a lot on the line for your future and you could be impacting your employment and housing opportunities many years down the road if you do not hire a criminal defense attorney who will fight for you.