Expunging a criminal offense from an individual’s record eliminates the existence of the conviction. Consequently, a public official cannot be forced to forfeit his position based upon a conviction that had already been expunged.

So held the New Jersey Appellate Division in a decision (I.M.O. Nunez) issued earlier this month.

Previous Expungement In 1991, Francisco Nunez, a bilingual clerk employed by Union City, pleaded guilty to weapons possession charges. Although a conviction of this third degree offense carried with it an automatic forfeiture of Nunez’ public office, forfeiture was not ordered. Nunez continued in his clerk position and, in 2003, had his conviction expunged.

In 2005, Nunez became acting vice president of the Union City Employees Association.  Shortly after his appointment, the city council filed a motion seeking forfeiture of his clerk position based on the 1991 conviction.

Trumps Forfeiture The purpose of expungement is to eliminate the indirect consequences that a criminal conviction may impose on an otherwise law-abiding citizen, according to the Appellate Division. Further, the court stated that forfeiture of public office was such an indirect consequence and, therefore, would be eliminated as an option by expungement. The court reasoned that, by providing for expungement, the Legislature allowed the individual to wipe his record clean so that the conviction never occurred.