The client carried a Class 6 Felony Criminal Damage conviction out of Maricopa County Superior Court from a 2021 case. Future First filed the application to designate the conviction to a misdemeanor under ARS § 13-604 and the court granted the application in 183 days, converting the open felony to a Class 1 Misdemeanor on the official record.
At a glance
| Original conviction | Criminal Damage (ARS § 13-1602), Class 6 Felony |
| Application filed | Application to Designate to Misdemeanor, ARS § 13-604, 2023 |
| Court | Maricopa County Superior Court |
| Result | Designated to Misdemeanor. The conviction is now a Class 1 Misdemeanor on the record. |
| Rights restored | Felony designation removed. Civil rights tied to the felony status restored. Faster downstream eligibility for sealing and other cleanup steps. |
| Time from application to grant | 183 days from application filing to granted |
The challenge
A Class 6 Felony conviction sits at the line between Arizona’s felony and misdemeanor systems. The felony class still triggers every felony-level background-check flag. Civil rights tied to the felony status are limited. Firearm rights are stripped under federal law. The conviction does the damage that any felony does, even at the lowest class.
ARS § 13-604 lets the sentencing court designate a Class 6 Felony to a misdemeanor when the statutory criteria are met. The designation is not automatic. The applicant has to file. The court reviews the statutory factors and the sentence-completion record. Once designated, the conviction is a misdemeanor for all purposes going forward.
What we did
Future First filed the Application to Designate to Misdemeanor under ARS § 13-604 in Maricopa County Superior Court. The application documented sentence completion, the statutory factors, the client’s performance during the original sentencing term, and the rehabilitation record built since the conviction.
Designation applications run on Maricopa’s standard criminal motion cycle. The 183-day grant timeline reflects the procedural workflow, including any prosecutor response period and the court’s review of the statutory factors. The application held up at every step.
The judge signed the order. Designation to Misdemeanor granted. The Class 6 Felony Criminal Damage conviction is now a Class 1 Misdemeanor on the record. Federal firearm prohibition tied to the felony designation lifts. The downstream sealing wait under ARS § 13-911 runs on misdemeanor terms going forward.
What our clients say
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If you have an Arizona Class 6 Felony on your record
ARS § 13-604 is the designation statute. The court has discretion to designate a Class 6 Felony to a misdemeanor. The application has to address the statutory factors. The sentence completion record, the rehabilitation evidence, and the public interest in granting the relief all factor into the outcome.
The downstream effect of designation is structural. The federal firearm prohibition tied to the felony classification lifts on designation. The civil disabilities tied to the felony status lift. The sealing wait under § 13-911 runs on the misdemeanor wait period after designation. For Class 1 Misdemeanor cases, that wait is three years.
Designation works in combination with set aside and sealing. The case can run through designation, then set aside, then sealing. Each step adds another layer of cleanup. The applicant ends up with the case off the felony record, the judgment vacated, and the case file closed to public view.
Related resources
Call us
Want to clear your record in Arizona? Call Future First Criminal Law at 602-900-6240 or request a free consultation. We have handled hundreds of Arizona record removal applications across every statute path. The cleanup is permanent and the process moves faster when handled by a firm that knows the local court.
Anonymized in line with firm policy. Client name not used. Specific dates approximated to year only. Outcome described reflects this client’s actual results. Past outcomes do not guarantee future results. For more detailed information on Arizona record removal law, visit the Arizona State Legislature website.
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