The client carried a Class 1 misdemeanor assault conviction out of Tempe Municipal Court for more than two decades. Future First filed an Application to Set Aside Judgment under ARS § 13-905 and a separate Sealing Records Application. The Tempe Set Aside Assault application landed in 31 days with a Certificate of Second Chance attached.
At a glance
| Original conviction | Assault (ARS § 13-1203(A)(1)), Class 1 Misdemeanor, 2000 |
| Application filed | Application to Set Aside under ARS § 13-905, 2025 |
| Court | Tempe Municipal Court |
| Result | Set Aside Granted With Certificate Of Second Chance |
| Rights restored | Certificate of Second Chance for occupational, employer, and housing protections |
| Time from application to grant | 31 days from application filing to granted |
The challenge
The client picked up a Class 1 misdemeanor assault charge in Tempe at 21 years old. He pleaded guilty, served one year of probation, and finished every term of the sentence in 2000. Twenty-five years later, the conviction still showed up on background checks. Employers ran the report, saw “assault,” and stopped reading. The conviction kept blocking job opportunities for a man who had not touched the criminal system on a similar charge in nearly a quarter century.
The conviction also blocked occupational licensing protections under Arizona law. Without a Certificate of Second Chance, the client had no statutory shield against the assault entry being used as an automatic disqualifier in title 32 license decisions, in employment screens, and in housing applications. The case was old. The collateral consequences were not.
What we did
Future First filed two simultaneous applications in Tempe Municipal Court. The first was an Application to Set Aside Judgment under ARS § 13-905, with a request for firearm rights restoration and a Certificate of Second Chance. The second was an Application to Seal Criminal Case Records under ARS § 13-911. Filing both together gave the court the full picture of what the client wanted and made the path forward clean.
The set-aside packet walked the judge through the ARS § 13-905(C) factors. The client completed every term of the 2000 sentence. He stayed out of the assault context for 24 years. He was 21 at the time of the offense and 46 at the time of filing. The conviction served no remaining public-safety purpose and continued to hinder his career. Future First framed the record as the only thing standing between this client and clean employment screens.
The court granted the Application to Set Aside Judgment and issued the Certificate of Second Chance under ARS § 13-905. The conviction was set aside, the accusation dismissed, and the client was released from the penalties and disabilities of the conviction except for the DOT-related limitations the statute carves out. The Certificate of Second Chance triggered the occupational licensing, employer protection, and housing protection provisions under ARS § 12-558.03 and title 32.
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If you have an old conviction in Arizona
Arizona’s set aside statute, ARS § 13-905, gives you a path to clear the judgment of guilt off your record. The court does not erase the case. It does set aside the judgment, dismiss the accusation, and release you from most of the penalties and disabilities tied to the conviction. For older misdemeanors that no longer reflect who you are, the set aside is the cleanest fix available.
You qualify for a set aside if you have completed all terms of your sentence, including probation, restitution, fines, and any court-ordered classes. Timing matters less than completion. Some clients qualify within months of finishing probation. Others, like this one, qualify decades later. The court weighs the ARS § 13-905(C) factors, including the nature of the offense, your compliance with the sentence, your age at the time, the time since the offense, and the victim’s input if any.
Pairing a set aside with a Sealing Records Application under ARS § 13-911 is the modern Arizona play. The set aside cleans the judgment. The sealing keeps the case file out of public databases. Together they give you the strongest record-removal posture Arizona offers for an old misdemeanor.
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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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