Criminal Defense Attorney John E. MacDonald Secures Precedent for Deferred Sentence Expungements in RI

Rhode Island Deferred Sentence Expungements

April 2012 – Providence RI – Providence RI Criminal Defense Attorney John MacDonald has secured a precedent for helping clients resolve an issue in a deferred sentencing expungement in Rhode Island.

If you were granted a deferred sentence in Rhode Island prior to 2011, the recent changes in the interpretation of this law may prevent you from expunging your record under the guidelines of your agreement.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, all defendant’s with a deferred sentence secured before 2011 cannot expunge it after its five year period ended. Currently, those who obtained deferred sentences prior to 2011 must wait an additional ten years to expunge their criminal record.

Attorney MacDonald has recently developed a mechanism to expunge these records immediately.

The filing of post-conviction relief allows the original deferred sentence to be opened. Once open, the conviction can then be dismissed and immediately expunged. He has secured this result already for multiple clients.

When asked what this means for those who fall between the old law and the new precedent, Attorney MacDonald said, "Unless you are pro-active and file post-conviction relief to enforce the expungement you bargained for and earned, you will be stuck with a felony conviction for the next 10 years”.


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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.