(This post pertains only to expunctions of North Carolina charges in North Carolina courts)
In this day and age, most employers, colleges and universities and military branches routinely run a criminal record check on applicants. A person with a previous criminal charge on their record runs a much higher risk of rejection than someone with a clean record. Expunctions, otherwise known as expungements, are a way to eliminate some of those previous charges and related information, in certain, limited circumstances, from appearing on a public record. However, simply obtaining an expunction does not erase the fact that the previous charge, and the conduct which led to it, actually occurred. So what, exactly, does an expunction accomplish?