Many people who have been arrested, charged with a crime or convicted want to just move on with life without a criminal record haunting them from the rest of their lives. Mistakes made earlier in life should not be used to predict future behavior. Unfortunately, employers, rental agencies, colleges and military recruiters can be particularly sensitive about criminal records. Because of this, the law allows some criminal records to be expunged.
Expunction (also known as Expungement) is the removal of a record of arrest from a person's criminal file. Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure establishes specific requirements for the expunction of criminal history records, including arrest records. Essentially, a defendant can petition the court to remove arrests which did not lead to a finding of guilt or the placement on community supervision in a subsequent prosecution. If criminal charges were dropped, a not guilty verdict was rendered, or a conviction was overturned on appeal, a defendant would be eligible to have all records relating to the prosecution destroyed.
Expunction is also available for those with class C misdemeanors (crimes punishable by fines of $500 or less) where a defendant received deferred adjudication, and completed all probation mandates handed down by the court.
Expunction is not available for defendants placed on deferred adjudication for crimes other than class C misdemeanors. However, case records may be sealed through an order of non-disclosure for defendants placed on deferred adjudication when the offense is higher than a class C. Normally, criminal records are a matter of public record, thus making them available for anyone to view. A non-disclosure order prevents your records from being available to the public. Since they are not open to the public, information brokers and other entities that perform background checks may not access these records.
A non-disclosure order does not allow defendants to deny the arrest and subsequent prosecution of a previous crime. Also, law enforcement may still keep records of the proceeding, and they may be used in future prosecutions. State licensing agencies, such as medical and legal boards, may also access this information and use it for character and fitness determinations. Only expunctions allow defendants to deny the arrest and the subsequent prosecution of the crime expunged. However, there are some limited circumstances wherein it would be necessary to state that you previously had a case expunged, such as when you are a witness in a criminal proceeding or when answering questions posed by a federal investigator.
In cases of a dismissal it may be possible to get an immediate expunction. However, some records may remain if the statute of limitations has not run. When an expunction is obtained prior to the statute of limitations running certain law enforcement agencies and prosecutors offices are allowed to keep the records of the defendant's arrest. Many defendants will prefer to wait until the statute of limitations has run because the expunction will be complete with no records retained by the various state agencies.
This article is intended as an overview to Texas' law regarding expunction and should not be considered legal advice. An experienced criminal defense attorney can answer further questions about the expunction process and specific terms of eligibility
