DUI Arrests Records in New Kent
A person facing drunk driving charges needs to obtain a lawyer immediately. DUI arrests records in New Kent are made available to the public. Since they are public records, if someone is arrested for driving under the influence, they may face consequences in the future. Employers, colleges, and other people can find all DUI arrest records if they are conducting a background check on someone. Since there can be long-term impacts of driving while intoxicated, it is essential that the person consult a local DUI lawyer.
If you have been arrested for driving under the influence, you will need a resourceful drunk driving defense attorney. Even if you were arrested for a DUI, you can still build a defense. An attorney understands that DUI arrests records in New Kent can have long-term impacts on someone’s lifestyle.
Arrest Documentation
DUI arrests records in New Kent and all arrest records are available to the public in not only New Kent but throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. A person normally sees these records both online and they are held by the Virginia State Police.
When background checks are done or when any layperson wants to look these matters up and they have access to the internet, they can, for lack of a better term, Google a person or look into the individual case information system of the jurisdiction in which a person is arrested, and they can find information on what a person is charged with, court dates, and upcoming dates in all of the jurisdictions of Virginia, New Kent especially.
Mug Shots
Sometimes, through a website called Find Link, an individual can find pictures, where people are held, and sometimes mug shots are there as well. Also, if a person were to drive over to Virginia State Police or go to the jurisdiction in which someone was or is arrested, sometimes, mug shots are made available. Lastly, in what is referred to as the Gotcha! paper, a lot of times, this information is published in that document as well.
Mug shots can be found because they are made available to the general public. If there is someone who is interested in finding out what an individual’s mug shot looks like or what a person’s criminal history or arrest record is, they can access that.
Arrest Records vs Criminal History
That ultimately depends on what an individual is trying to do with a person’s arrest record. There are essentially two types of records. There is going to be an arrest record, which is anytime an individual ever has contact with the courts. Then, there is going to be a person’s criminal history, which is going to be essentially based out of or made up of convictions and times that they were in fact charged.
Whenever an individual is charged with any kind of crime in the Commonwealth of Virginia, it is going to be on that person’s record. Now, the caveat is how it appears on an individual’s record. When a person is initially charged, the crime is on a person’s criminal history as a pending matter. So long as an individual has not been convicted of that matter while that matter is pending, court dates are happening, or discovery is going on, it will always appear on a person’s record as a pending matter.
Sealed or Expunged Records
There is a difference between sealed and expunged records. Something sealed means that it exists; it just cannot be seen but it is in fact there. Having something expunged means that it is no longer there. Virginia is more of an expungement state.
Essentially, as far as all records are concerned, there is not too much sealing going on as far as a person’s criminal record is concerned. If an individual is convicted of a crime, then that crime will be on his or her criminal history, and it cannot be expunged and it is not going to be sealed. However, if a person’s charge is ultimately dismissed through trial, a commonwealth motion, or something else, then that matter can be expunged and it will not be on an individual’s record.
Expungement Process
After that occurs, that can then change as far as what an individual can then do with the said DUI arrests records in New Kent. As far as adults are concerned, if an individual’s charge is dismissed or his or her charge is a null process, the Commonwealth makes a motion to dismiss or that individual has got a file that is dismissed.
If an individual ultimately gets the charge dismissed for trial or null processed by commonwealth motions, then the matter can be expunged from his or her record. When a person’s record is subsequently run, then the charge will not appear at all. It will not appear if it is pending. It will not appear if it is dismissed. It will not be there. But an individual has to actually initiate the expungement. Just because the charge is dismissed does not mean that it is automatically going to be expunged from a person’s record; that is something that an individual subsequently has to do for themselves.
