Sealing Criminal Records and Early Termination of Probation 

In Arkansas, certain offenses can be expunged from your record at different times, under different circumstances. There are many reasons we can successfully petition to have your probation terminated early. We discuss the facts – and likelihood of success – with each caller before accepting a case to seal criminal convictions or terminate probation.  

Probation Revocation 

There are many reasons your probation can be revoked – alleged to have committed a new crime, not paying fines and costs, not checking in with probation, failing drug tests, not working or going to school, or violating any other term of your probation. Unlike criminal charges, the standard that the Court uses to determine if a defendant has or has not violated their probation is a “Preponderance of the Evidence” standard – a much lower standard than the original “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” standard that the State must meet in order to obtain a conviction of anyone accused of committing a crime. 

How much do record sealing and probation matters cost?  

Petitions to Seal or Expunge or for Early Termination of Probation are more similar to civil matters than criminal, because we are not defending allegations by the State. We cannot predict with a high degree of accuracy objections or issues that may arise before we start working. Some Petitions to Seal and/or Petitions to Terminate may take substantially more work and time than others, so we bill on an hourly retainer basis. It’s not reasonable to have one set fee for every client, because each client’s matter is different. Petitions to Terminate Probation and to Seal start with a $1,000 retainer and are billed hourly, just as we bill for other non-criminal legal matters. 

Representing defendants against the State attempting to Revoke their Probation is billed on a flat fee basis, just as we charge for criminal defense matters.  Our fees for defending Probation Revocations start at $2000 and go up depending on the underlying conviction and the specific violations of Probation alleged by the State. A total will be determined before you hire us.