A Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney can help a person obtain a pardon in Pennsylvania by fundamentally helping them understand and navigate the pardon process. The pardon process in Pennsylvania, to put it simply, is a two-step process. The first step is to seek that the hearing be granted by the board of pardons. It's the application process. Then if the hearing is granted, that's step two, and that would be preparing for one attending to the hearing itself in Harrisburg.
A Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney can help the petitioner or the person seeking the pardon, present their best effort and can present their best foot forward for purposes of getting the hearing granted through the application process. The board of pardons has a rather standardized process, but the board of pardons will take into account everything about the petitioner, and a Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney can help the petitioner paint the necessary picture to have the board of pardons grant the hearing. Again, through step one of the process and if the hearing is granted, the attorney would be able to prepare the petitioner and be with the petitioner for purposes of the pardon hearing in Harrisburg.
It can be a two to three-year process from start to finish. Having an attorney navigate and guide you through the process will be of tremendous benefit.