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Expungement in Texas is a legal process through which individuals to seek erasure of an event from their criminal records.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2012) |
Expungement in Texas is a legal process through which individuals to seek erasure of an event from their criminal records.
Texas expungement law [1] allows expungement (referred to as "expunction" Texas statutes) of criminal records which did not lead to a finding of guilt, certain class C misdemeanors when the defendant successfully completed deferred adjudication, successful completion of deferred prosecution agreements. [1] If the defendant was found guilty, pleaded guilty, or pleaded no contest, they will not be eligible for expungement; however, it may be eligible for non-disclosure (more commonly referred to as record sealing) in the circumstances outlined below.
The Texas Young Lawyers Association and State Bar of Texas provide an informational packet about expungement as a service to the public. [2]
Juvenile offenses potentially eligible for expungement include "misdemeanor[s] punishable by fine committed prior to the age of 17, [offenses] committed by [minors] under the Alcoholic Beverage Code and [convictions] for Failure to Attend School" under the Education Code. [2] Disqualifying factors can include multiple convictions and insufficient age. [2]
The release, dissemination or use of expunged records by any agency is prohibited. Unless being questioned under oath, the defendant may deny the occurrence of the arrest and expungement order. [1] [3] If questioned under oath, the witness may only respond the matter was expunged.
The 76th Texas Legislature rejected a bill that would have expanded access to expungement. [4] The 78th Texas Legislature failed to gain consensus for HB-384, which would have granted automatic expungement in the cases of acquittal, pardoning, or upon dropping of charges. [5] The 82nd Texas Legislature's passing of HB-351 and SB-462 reformed the expungement code to include relief for those convicted but later determined to be innocent. [6]
Those ineligible for expungement may still seek an Order of Nondisclosure under some circumstances. [7]
Petitioning the court for an Order of NonDisclosure is often the best option for those that are not eligible for an expungement/expunction in Texas, and typically used in situations where a sentence of deferred adjudication was imposed by the court. [8] With some exception, expungements are typically intended for situations where there was no finding of guilt. In other words, expungements are for when you've been found not guilty, your charges have been dismissed, your conviction was overturned on appeal, or you were arrested but never charged. [9] The exceptions to this general rule are for when you've successfully completed deferred prosecution, or when you've successfully completed deferred adjudication for a Class C Misdemeanor.
An Order of Non-Disclosure does not completely eradicate your record like an Order for Expunction, but seals and generally removes it from the public domain. Your record may be visible to certain government agencies listed below, but it will be removed from the public domain and not appear in most background checks. [10] After Tex. Gov't Code Section 411.0765 was amended in 2017, Texas law specifically allows for the disclosure of sealed records to most criminal justice agencies and these noncriminal justices agencies:
Record Sealing is often available in the following circumstances, upon meeting specific requirements:
The most common situations for record sealing are for those sentenced to deferred adjudication for misdemeanors or felonies. Many misdemeanors can be sealed immediately, while others have a two-year waiting period. [17] For felonies, there is a five-year waiting period after successful completion of the sentence, and you cannot be convicted of any new crimes during that period. [12] In 2017, major changes were made to Texas law relating to deferred adjudication, permitting the sealing of certain first-time DWI convictions if specific requirements were satisfied. [14] Previously, DWI convictions were prohibited by statute from being sealed. [18]
The following charges are never eligible for a non-disclosure:
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanour is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.
Nolo contendere is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment.
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody, usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questioned further and/or charged. An arrest is a procedure in a criminal justice system, sometimes it is also done after a court warrant for the arrest.
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal convictions history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country. In most cases it lists all non-expunged criminal offences and may also include traffic offences such as speeding and drunk driving. In most countries a criminal record is limited to unexpunged and unexpired actual convictions, while in some it can also include arrests, charges dismissed, charges pending and charges of which the individual has been acquitted.
A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as indictment. In the United States, an alternative misdemeanor/felony offense lists both county jail and state prison as possible punishment, for example, theft. Similarly, a wobblette is a crime that can be charged either as a misdemeanor or an infraction, for example, in California, violating COVID-19 safety precautions.
In criminal procedure, an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal allows a court to defer the disposition of a defendant's case, with the potential that the defendant's charge will be dismissed if the defendant does not engage in additional criminal conduct or other acts prohibited by the court as a condition of the ACD. The defendant subject to the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal is restored to the status he or she occupied prior to arrest, either during or after the period of adjournment that accompanies the ACD: that is, all records of the arrest and after the period for which the ACD applies; however, in many jurisdictions a local law enforcement record of the arrest is retained by default, unless that record is explicitly expunged.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c.53) of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past. The rehabilitation period is automatically determined by the sentence. After this period, if there has been no further conviction the conviction is "spent" and, with certain exceptions, need not be disclosed by the ex-offender in any context such as when applying for a job, obtaining insurance, or in civil proceedings. A conviction for the purposes of the ROA includes a conviction issued outside Great Britain and therefore foreign convictions are eligible to receive the protection of the ROA.
A discharge is a type of sentence imposed by a court whereby no punishment is imposed.
In the common law legal system, an expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which an individual who has been arrested for or convicted of a crime seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed or destroyed, making the records nonexistent or unavailable to the general public. If successful, the records are said to be "expunged". Black's Law Dictionary defines "expungement of record" as the "Process by which record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from the state or Federal repository." While expungement deals with an underlying criminal record, it is a civil action in which the subject is the petitioner or plaintiff asking a court to declare that the records be expunged.
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is a website that provides access to some circuit courts records of Wisconsin. The website displays the case information entered into the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) case management system by court staff in the counties where the case files are located. The court record summaries provided by the system are all public records under Wisconsin open records law sections 19.31-19.39 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
A diversion program, also known as a pretrial diversion program or pretrial intervention program, in the criminal justice system is a form of pretrial sentencing that helps remedy behavior leading to the arrest. Administered by the judicial or law enforcement systems, they often allow the offender to avoid conviction and include a rehabilitation program to prevent future criminal acts. Availability and the operation of such systems differ in different countries.
The Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of 2009 is a proposed federal law introduced to the United States House of Representatives Charles B. Rangel as H.R. 1529. This bill seeks to:
A deferred adjudication, also known in some jurisdictions as an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACOD), probation before judgment (PBJ), or deferred entry of judgment (DEJ), is a form of plea deal available in various jurisdictions, where a defendant pleads "guilty" or "no contest" to criminal charges in exchange for meeting certain requirements laid out by the court within an allotted period of time also ordered by the court. Upon completion of the requirements, which may include probation, treatment, community service, some form of community supervision, or some other diversion program, the defendant may avoid a formal conviction on their record or have their case dismissed. In some cases, an order of non-disclosure can be obtained, and sometimes a record can be expunged.
Employment discrimination against persons with criminal records in the United States has been illegal since enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employers retain the right to lawfully consider an applicant's or employee's criminal conviction(s) for employment purposes e.g., hiring, retention, promotion, benefits, and delegated duties.
Gun laws in Indiana regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the U.S. state of Indiana. Laws and regulations are subject to change.
Gun laws in Texas regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the U.S. state of Texas.
Criminal records in the United States contain records of arrests, criminal charges and the disposition of those charges. Criminal records are compiled and updated on local, state, and federal levels by government agencies, most often law enforcement agencies. Their primary purpose is to present a comprehensive criminal history for a specific individual.
Expungement in the United States is a process which varies across jurisdictions. Many states allow for criminal records to be sealed or expunged, although laws vary by state. Some states do not permit expungement, or allow expungement under very limited circumstances. In general, once sealed or expunged, all records of an arrest and of any subsequent court proceedings are removed from the public record, and the individual may legally deny or fail to acknowledge ever having been arrested for or charged with any crime which has been expunged.
Missouri has two forms of expungement, one generally applicable to criminal cases and a unique one for the crime of being a minor in possession of alcohol. On July 13, 2016, governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 588 into law, which expands the opportunities available for expungement of criminal convictions in Missouri. The new law went into effect January 1, 2018.
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