Youthful Offender Cases in Baldwin County, Alabama and Criminal Backgrounds 

Jordan Copeland • September 16, 2022

Cases Granted Youthful Offender Status in Baldwin County Courts and Criminal Background Reports

Our law office provides legal representation for clients seeking to remedy Youthful Offender cases in Baldwin County, Alabama appearing on criminal background reports. Over the years, we have sucessfully represented many clients in having charges that were granted Youthful Offender removed from improperly being reported as the underlying charge on their criminal record. Does your criminal background report from ALEA and/or the FBI report a Youthful Offender, inaccurate, or incomplete charge? Our Baldwin County law office represents clients seeking to correct these criminal reports.

Cases Granted Youthful Offender Status in Baldwin County, Alabama Courts and Criminal Background Reports

According to Alabama's Youthful Offender statute - if a person charged with a crime in an adult court (not juvenile court) in Alabama is under the age of 21 at the time of the alleged offense, that person has the right to make an application with the court requesting Youthful Offender status be granted. If you had a prior criminal case in any court in Baldwin County, Alabama that was granted Youthful Offender status, it is sealed and the fact that you were arrested, charged, and adjudicated should NOT appear on your ALEA, FBI, or other criminal background reports. The report should be blank in relation to your prior Youthful Offender case.

Youthful Offender status can be granted in any adult Traffic, Municipal, District, or Circuit Court in Baldwin County, Alabama, including but not limited to: Orange Beach Municipal Court, Gulf Shores Municipal Court, Foley Municipal Court, District or Circuit Court of Baldwin County.

For example, “John Anyname” was charged with a felony drug charge in the Circuit Court of Baldwin County, Alabama many years ago. During the case, the Court granted Mr. Anyname Youthful Offender status. As a result of receiving Youthful Offender status, his case was sealed by the Court Clerk. However, ALEA and the FBI are reporting the felony arrest on his Alabama and FBI criminal background report. Our law office represents people in Mr. Anyname’s situation in seeking the remedy of correcting his criminal history reports to remove the improperly reported Youthful Offender case.

Youthful Offender Adjudications in Baldwin County, Alabama are NOT Felony or Misdemeanor Convictions

If you were granted Youthful Offender status in a prior criminal case in any court in Baldwin County, Alabama and you were adjudicated “guilty” of being a youthful offender then you were not guilty of the original criminal charge. You are only adjudicated “guilty” of being a youthful offender – meaning you are not convicted of the original charged felony or misdemeanor in the case. Therefore, a person granted Youthful Offender status in Baldwin County, Alabama does not lose civil or political rights that the person would lose if convicted of the felony with no youthful offender status. You do NOT lose your right to own or possess a firearm or ammunition if you are adjudicated guilty of being a youthful offender in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Criminal Charges Granted Youthful Offender Status by a court in Baldwin County, Alabama Court are Sealed - no matter the outcome

Also, as explained above, if you are granted Youthful Offender status in a court in Baldwin County, Alabama – even if you are adjudicated guilty of being a youthful offender – your criminal history report should not be reporting the fact that you were ever arrested for the charge. In this situation, your ALEA and FBI criminal history reports should be clear of any arrest or charge because the youthful offender file is sealed by the Court under Alabama law.

Incomplete Criminal Background Report Indicates an Old Case is Still Open or Pending

Another situation involves potentially incomplete background reports where a person’s prior case shows a still pending or no disposition many years after a charge has been dismissed or nolle prossed.

For example, “Jane Doe” is charged with a felony drug charge in the Circuit Court of Baldwin County, Alabama. As a part of the case, Ms. Doe is allowed to enter Pre-trial Diversion and she successfully completes CRO and drug court. As a result, her case is “nolle prossed” or “dismissed”. However, on her criminal background report, the disposition is not reported, the charge appears to still be pending, or is inaccurately reported as a conviction. Our law office represents people in Ms. Doe’s situation in seeking the remedy of updating or correcting her criminal history reports to update the proper disposition.

Petition for Expungement vs. Requests to Correct Criminal Background

In these examples, if the client’s charge is also eligible for expungement in Baldwin County, Alabama, we will discuss this remedy as it may be preferable in the situation. Inaccurate and incomplete criminal background reports in Baldwin County, Alabama can result in a lost job opportunity, denial of a career advancement, denial of a professional license, denial of rental application, and more. Our law office will contact the proper agencies involved and work through the process in an effort to have inaccurate and incomplete criminal background reports from Alabama corrected for our clients.

No matter what state you currently reside, if you have a prior youthful offender charge from any court in Baldwin County, Alabama that is appearing on your ALEA criminal background report, we can represent you in seeking to remove this record from your report – including other inaccuracies. Feel free to contact Baldwin County, Alabama Expungement Lawyer, Jordan M. Copeland by email at jordan@orangebeachlawyer.com or by phone at 251-545-3637 to discuss potential representation.

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Orange Beach, Alabama Expungements for Licensed Professionals

By Jordan Copeland • October 13, 2023
Our law firm is experienced in representing Licensed Professionals that have been arrested in Orange Beach, Alabama (and Baldwin County) through the process of seeking an expungement. Since Alabama first passed an expungement law in 2014, our law Firm has successfully represented hundreds of Licensed Professionals from across the United States seeking to have a prior arrest record expunged in the State of Alabama. If you are a Licensed Professional with a previous arrest in the Orange Beach, Alabama, we know negative career consequences can result. Our law Firm has successfully obtained expungements for Licensed Professionals in most every career field. Some of the positions considered to be Licensed Professionals include: Attorneys, Real Estate Agents and Brokers, Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Engineers, Pharmacists, Registered Nurses (RNs), Medical Doctors (MDs), and Physician’s Assistants (PAs), Nurse Practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), amoung others. Many Licensed Professionals and future Licensed Professionals are unaware that even if your prior criminal charge in Alabama was dismissed or did not result in a conviction, the record of your arrest will remain on your criminal background report unless it is removed via an Order of Expungement from the proper Court in Alabama. As a Licensed Professional, even certain arrest records for violations and misdemeanors can have substantial negative impacts on licensing and career advancement. Our Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement Law Firm has successfully obtained expungements of prior Alabama arrests records for professionals in many types of drug and alcohol charges, including: Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Possession of Marijuana 1st and 2nd degree, Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Unlawful Possession/Use of Drug Paraphernalia, Public Intoxication, among other crimes. Our Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement lawyers have also obtained expungements for professionals previously arrest for many types of personal and property crimes in Alabama, including: Domestic Violence, 3rd degree, Harassment, Resisting Arrest, Theft of Property 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degrees, Possession of a Forged Instrument, among many others. The proper jurisdiction to petition to expunge eligible, prior Alabama arrest records is the Alabama Circuit Court of the county where the original charge was pending. No matter in what state you reside, Licensed Professionals previously arrested in Baldwin County, Alabama must petition to expunge said arrest in Baldwin County, Alabama to clear their criminal background the best as legally possible (if your case is eligible). Expungements are the focus of our Orange Beach Alabama Expungement Lawyer, Jordan M. Copeland – clearing criminal records to the extent of Alabama law for his clients. If you are a Licensed Professional, no matter in what state you reside, if your prior arrest was in Orange Beach, Alabama or surrounding areas in Alabama, our Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement Law Firm can represent you remotely through the entire Petition for Expungement process without a visit to our law office. Our Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement Lawyer’s goal is to have the Circuit Court grant your Petition for Expungement without the necessity of a court hearing. Although a hearing is possible, from our experience a vast majority of our cases are not set for a hearing because of no objection from the District Attorney’s office. In Alabama even if your case is eligible for an expungement, the District Attorney’s office has forty-five (45) days after the petition is served to file any objection with the Court. Therefore, our Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement Law Firm prepares custom petitions for expungement detailing the positive factors of each client giving the Court the detailed grounds for and reasons each client is seeking an expungement order from the Court. Our goal is to bolster you petition for expungement with our custom supporting packets for each petition. If you are a Licensed Professional that has had a prior arrest in Orange Beach, Alabama, or surrounding areas, that record of arrest will remain on your criminal background report unless you are granted an Order of Expungement in Alabama. You need an experienced Orange Beach, Alabama Expungement Lawyer to represent you through the legal process. Many Licensed Professionals across the USA that were previously arrested in Orange Beach, Alabama have already trusted our law firm to represent them through the petition for expungement process in Alabama. No attorney can ethically guarantee a result in any representation. Our experience and results in petitions for expungement representation in Alabama speaks for itself. Check out our Google Reviews on our Google Map Page titled “Orange Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer – J.M. Copeland”. For more information regarding your particular expungement eligibility, feel free to email us at: Jordan@OrangeBeachLawyer.com or call our office at: (251) 545-3637.
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