This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.
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If you have been convicted of a felony, that conviction is probably a matter of public record and visible to anyone who searches for it. You may be able to have your criminal record expunged and this will remove or alter the conviction in the court's records. Expungement legally permits you to answer "no" when asked whether you have been convicted of a crime when applying for a private sector job or to rent a home. Note, however, that expungement policies are different in each state and that felonies are much more difficult to expunge than misdemeanors.