How a Misdemeanor Can Affect Your Future

By: Fagan, Fagan & Davis

While many people brush off a misdemeanor offense as a minor violation of the law, this serious crime can have a lasting effect on your life and your criminal record. Continue reading to learn more about the effects of a misdemeanor conviction on your record.

If you have recently been accused of a crime, or possibly arrested, you should speak to an attorney as soon as possible. There is plenty of false information out there about misdemeanor and felony crimes, and taking in the wrong information about the offense you may be soon convicted of can have detrimental consequences. First and foremost, you should recognize that being charged with any type of violation, no matter how minor or major, can have a devastating effect on your future by hindering your criminal record. Even a moving violation, or a traffic ticket, that is simply an infraction of the law can hold consequences such as license suspension when too many of these violations occur.

While many people believe that a misdemeanor is the lightest offense a person can be charged with, they are sorely mistaken. A misdemeanor is a serious crime that is mainly categorized by up to a year in jail in most states – that’s a year in jail without the ability to work and provide for your family, go to school, care for your children, or enjoy the outside world. Not only will this type of conviction immediately affect you and your family, but it can hold consequences on your future due to the serious mark on your criminal record.

When a person is released from jail or has completed their sentence after a misdemeanor conviction, they will have a criminal record that follows them around. With a simple background check, a future employer or a university admissions center may be able to view your past criminal history and see that you have been convicted of a crime. No matter how serious this conviction may be, the employer or university may have a zero tolerance rule in regards to employing or schooling convicted criminals.

Lastly, this type of conviction is not one that will simply just disappear from your criminal record. In fact, it will remain on your record for all to see until further legal action is taken to remove it, if possible. Due to the serious nature of misdemeanor crimes and the effect they will have on your life and criminal record, it is important that you involve a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney will be able to investigate the case before a decision is made to convict you of a crime – before the prosecution has the chance to devastate your entire future. If you have been charged with any offense, misdemeanor or felony, contacting a criminal defense attorney should be the very first thing you do.