Erasing the Big Mistake

Sealing Records of Criminal Convictions for Licensed Professionals

Sharon P. Stiller, JD, and Joseph L. Indusi, JD

As a teenager, John D. was wild. At age 19, he was caught in a car with drugs and convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Instead of being issued a long prison sentence, he was given an opportunity to change his life—he was sentenced to complete a residential drug treatment program and a term of probation. This allowed John to get the help he needed. After he fulfilled his court mandate, he graduated from college with a bachelor's of science degree in accounting. Now, years after his misstep, he has started to seek employment as a junior accountant; however, his past continues to haunt him. Every application to a large firm (and some small ones) contains the dreaded words, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” John worries that he'll never be able to rise to the top level in his profession because of a mistake he made in his youth.