Good Quality Is Always Expensive
In 2011, the Air Force sent me to Argentina to teach the Law of Armed Conflict. While I was there, I went shopping, assuming prices would be cheaper than in the United States. They weren’t. When I asked why, our host shrugged and said, Lo bueno es caro en todas partes — good things are expensive everywhere.
That idea applies to expungements and 402 reductions in Utah. There are budget options. Some work fine. But when they don’t, they can cost you more time and more money than hiring someone to handle the process correctly from the start.
What Budget Options Provide
Most low-cost services help you draft and file documents. That’s it.
They don’t help you gather character letters or weave them into your petition so the judge sees the full picture of who you are now. They don’t review every place your record might appear — police agencies, jails, prosecutors, or smaller state offices. We once had to send an expungement order to the University of Utah, and a budget service would’ve missed that.
They also don’t tell you that you’ll still pay about $500 in court and administrative fees. Those costs are in addition to whatever you pay the service.
If something goes wrong, a budget service won’t show up in court to fix it. Many expungements and 402 reductions never require a hearing, but when they do, you want someone who can stand in front of the judge and explain why you deserve a clean record.
What Stone River Provides
At Stone River, we handle the entire process.
We walk you through how to gather strong character letters.
We prepare and file every document.
We check every agency that may hold a piece of your record.
And we wrap all court and administrative costs into a single flat fee, so you know your full price up front.
If a hearing is needed, we go. You don’t pay more. Because we prepare cases carefully and give prosecutors and judges everything they need, we avoid hearings most of the time. But when a case does require one, we’re there without adding a dollar to your bill. Flat rate means flat rate — even when it takes months to get a result.
Bottom Line
A budget service might work for you. If it does, great. But if it doesn’t, you’ll be out the money you spent and still need to hire someone who can finish the job. And the cost for quality help won’t have changed.
Good things are expensive everywhere. That includes getting your record cleaned up the right way.