A successful expungement by a citizen will result in this particular instance of their criminal profile to be expunged. Although expungement cases are put forth to remove a criminal record, the proceeding is considered a civil action where the plaintiff is asking the count to have the incriminating records removed. It must be noted that even though a successful verdit is reached by the plaintiff in an expungement case, in some states not all of the criminal record is removed and in some cases law enforcement is still able to access the full criminal record.

Individuals filing these expungement processes may represent themselves ( appearing pro se ) or hire an attorney for representation. Besides the obvious, most individuals filing for an expungement are doing so to prevent future employers, colleges or educational institutions, business partners, or any other institution seeking personal criminal records or background checks from seeing their criminal infraction.

It is also widely known that most states perform mandatory expungement of juvenile records once they turn a certain age (17 to 18), where the criminal records are either sealed or destroyed. The goal of this juvenile expungement is to remove criminal or delinquent acts from the youths record. This allows the minor to have a clean slate as they move into adulthood, with the assumption that they had learned from their previous youth mistakes.

How does one Qualify for an Expungement?

As the law for expunging a criminal record is different from state to state, so are the qualifications to be able to file a civil expungment. I will list and explain a few expungment qualifications which are generally standard in most states. One, the expunge must have no other criminal actions interfering with the current removal request. The plaintiff must not have an excessive amount of prior convictions against him/her. Three, the seriousness of the criminal offense has an impact on the expungement request. A certain holding or waiting period must be met before filing an expungement. Any sentence given to the requestor must have been met. Six, there must not be any pending criminal proceedings or criminal investigations. The relating action was disposed with no conviction. The individual who commited the criminal act must file the expungement themselves or have their lawyer do so for them. The type of criminal conviction is also a qualification, for example in most cases, sex offenders are not eligible for expungement. And finally, in general most states require people filing expungements to have completed probation without any infractions. Here is an example of California’s Petition for Expungement (PDF)

Examples of States Specific Expungement Laws:

Below are two examples of Texas and California’s expungement rules. As you will see, some of the requirements and qualifications are the same and some are different.

Arizona Expungement Law: Arizona does not allow criminal records to be expunged. However, when Arizona criminals turn 99 their criminal record is wiped clean similar to juveniles when they turn 18.

Texas Expungement Law: Texas allows the expungement of arrests who did not result in a guilty plea or a class C misdemeanor if defendant received deferred adjudication, and completed community supervision. The release, dissemination, or use of expunged records by any agency is strictly prohibited. The plaintiff is allowed to deny their criminal offense, the relating arrest, and expungement order after a successful expungment ruling, unless under oath in the court of law. The individual is not eligible for expungment if they were found guilty, pled guilty, or pled no contest to an offense other than a class “C” misdemeanor. However, one may be eligible for a non-disclosure if deferred adjudication was granted. (ref: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 55)

California Expungement Law: California allows anyone who is convicted of a crime to petition the court to re-open their case for dismissal. The plaintiff must complete probation, pay all fines / restitution, have not served a sentence in state prison for the offense, and not being charge for any other crime. The courts can may choose to expunge the offense if it is in the best interest of justice to do so. The result of a successful expungement in California will not erase the criminal record, but it will change the criminal record to a dismissal. After the expungement, the petitioner can legally answer to not having even been convicted of said crime, with a few rare exceptions. (ref: California Penal Code section 1203.4)

If you are interested in additional expungement information for an arrest, criminal conviction, or criminal action, it is recommended you contact a local attorney for exact expungement eligibility requirements.

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