Ways A Criminal Conviction Could Affect Your Life (Other Than Jail or Fine)
September 6, 2021
Many people think of a misdemeanor as a crime that merely involves a lack in moral judgment as opposed to something more serious like murder. Many people do not consider this type of allegation to be severe because they may only have to pay a small fine or spend a night or two in jail. On the contrary, a misdemeanor conviction can remain on your record for the rest of your life and is the type of charge in which a Virginia criminal defense attorney may be quite beneficial.
How Can Your Life Be Affected?
You may face challenges in both your career and personal life if you have a felony charge on your record and should contact a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer to help stave this off. Here are a few examples of how you might be affected:
Getting Employment
Before hiring someone, many employers conduct background checks and inquire about criminal charges. A misdemeanor may not automatically bar you from working, but it will likely necessitate some explanation to potential employers.
Privacy
Anyone may check to see if you’ve been charged with a crime because most court documents are public records. While this may not matter to some people, others may choose to keep their personal affairs secret.
Immigrant Status
If an immigrant is charged with a misdemeanor, it may jeopardize their eligibility to remain in the United States. Criminal histories can make it difficult for a foreign national to obtain a green card, naturalize as a citizen, or modify their immigration status.
A misdemeanor may be enough to start deportation proceedings if the crime is serious enough. Misdemeanors may also hinder your ability to get into college or rent a home in the future. A misdemeanor is a crime that, while less serious than a felony, has long-term consequences so you should call a criminal lawyer Fairfax VA.
Work Performance
A criminal charge can affect your capacity to concentrate at work or perform job responsibilities. Ex-prisoners, according to studies, can adopt behaviors that exacerbate social problems when they return to employment and life outside of incarceration.
Even after release, jail circumstances can force inmates to adopt practices that lead to self-imposed social isolation.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Random angry outbursts, insomnia, hyper-arousal, emotional numbness, nightmares, flashbacks, and overwhelming feelings of dread or guilt are all common PTSD symptoms. All of these symptoms can have a negative impact on your capacity to perform efficiently.
Emotional Separation
After serving time in prison, behaviors adopted as a kind of protection may make it difficult to form or establish personal ties with others. This can affect your social reputation, which includes how present and potential employers perceive you.
Discrimination against persons accused of crimes (even if they are never found guilty) is unfortunately widespread. Even if a person is wrongfully accused or convicted of a crime, the social stigma associated with it can endure a lifetime.
Shame and Guilt
While a regretful or apologetic attitude may reduce the risk of committing similar crimes in the future, defensive reactions to emotions of shame might lead to blaming others for issues, according to research from the Association for Psychological Science.
What a Fairfax criminal attorney Can do for You
If you’ve been charged with a misdemeanor, don’t underestimate the charge. A misdemeanor, like any other criminal charge, necessitates the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney/lawyer Fairfax VA to help you achieve the best possible conclusion in your case.
Rudolphi Law provides criminal defense to clients and can assist you with your misdemeanor case. Please contact us with any questions you may have so that we can begin working on your case right away.