Pardons
Do you wish that you could get your DUI off of your criminal record? Fortunately, driving under the influence is one of the most commonly pardoned crimes in the country. You can go back to living your life almost as if the crime never happened. However, you need to understand fully how his program works, how to apply for a pardon, and what kind of timeframe you can expect from a pardon.
What are Pardons?
The Parole Board of Canada is responsible for issuing pardons to the citizens who have served their sentence and demonstrated a law-abiding nature for a specific period of time. Pardons are now often called record suspensions. Receiving a pardon allows you to have your criminal record removed from the Canadian Police Information Centre database.
It should be noted here that a pardon does not erase the conviction. Instead, the record will be kept separate and apart from other criminal records. In the case of a former sexual offence, the record suspension will still be flagged in the system in order to prevent an offender from doing harm to a vulnerable group of people.
What is the real benefit of receiving a pardon? Getting a pardon means that your record will no longer show up when you apply for jobs or more educational opportunities.
How Can You Apply for a Pardon?
Applying for a pardon involves a lot of paperwork and the associated documentation to support it. You will need to get copies of all of the following paperwork:
- Convictions, Conditional and Absolution Discharges from the Criminal Record from the RCMP
- Proof of Conviction documents, if required
- Court Information
- Military Conduct Sheet
- Local Police Records Check
- Proof of Citizenship of Immigration Documents
- Photocopy of your Document to Support your Identification
Once you have all of this paperwork in hand, you will need to fill out the required forms. There are three separate forms known as the Record Suspension Application Form, the Measurable Benefit/Sustained Rehabilitation Form, and the Schedule 1 Exception Form.
When all of the appropriate paperwork is gathered, you can mail it in with a $631 processing fee. For more information on how to process the record suspension paperwork, you can follow this step-by-step guide offered by the Parole Board of Canada.
What Are the Times Associated with Pardons?
Unfortunately, you can’t immediately apply for a pardon in Canada. The waiting period associated with a record suspension will vary depending on what sort of crime was committed. The first step is to complete all of your sentences, including fines, imprisonment, and parole. A prohibition order does not need to end prior to starting the waiting period.
Once these steps are over, you must wait five years for a summary offence or ten years for an indictable offence.
Getting a pardon is a great way to improve your future chances of obtaining a job or getting into a good school. You should know how to follow these steps to obtain the record suspension you need. Next time you get into trouble, you need a competent DUI lawyer who can help lessen your sentence. Give Matthew Gould a call to see how he can help you!