|
Clearing Your Criminal Record in Texas
Expunction
Petition for Non-Disclosure
Clearing Your Criminal Record in Texas
Criminal history background checks have become a common part of life in the computer age. A background check often will be run on you when you apply for a job, mortgage, or even to live in an apartment complex. If you apply for college or graduate school, you may have to disclose your criminal record.
Texas law allows you to clear an adult criminal record in certain circumstances. For example, if you were tried and found not-guilty, you can have all records of the arrest and prosecution expunged. Or if the court dismissed the charges against you, you can usually have the arrest record expunged. Furthermore, if you appeal your conviction and are acquitted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, you can have the record expunged. In Texas, these procedures are known as expunction.
The only other way to clear a non-juvenile criminal record in Texas is called a petition for non-disclosure. A petition for non-disclosure is only available to those who have completed deferred adjudication probation. A person who completes deferred adjudication probation and wins a petition for non-disclosure can have the offense record sealed.
If you are granted expunction or non-disclosure, you can generally deny that you were ever arrested (except in certain criminal proceedings). So under Texas law, if you expunge a record or win your non-disclosure petition, you may deny that you were arrested or prosecuted on employment, mortgage, or college applications.
In Texas, a person who completes straight probation is not eligible for expunction or non-disclosure. Furthermore, other final criminal convictions cannot be erased from a criminal record. For example, a DWI conviction can never be expunged or sealed. If the court gave you as your punishment time served in jail or a prison sentence, you have a final conviction that cannot be sealed or expunged.
If you are ineligible for expunction and non-disclosure, there are two final ways to try to clear your record. First, you can try to win a pardon from the governor or president. Pardons are rare and difficult to get. Second, you can file a writ of habeas corpus.
Below is more detailed information about expunction and non-disclosure. My office offers reasonable rates for both processes. Please feel free to contact me for more information.
Back to top.
EXPUNCTION
Eligibility: You may be eligible for expunction if you meet one of the following criteria:
- You were found not-guilty after a trial.
- You were arrested but never charged with an indictment or an information; the charge is no longer pending; and you have not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest to be expunged.
- The indictment or information was dismissed or quashed; the statute of limitations has expired; and you have not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest to be expunged.
- You were convicted but were later pardoned by the governor.
- You were acquitted by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
- You completed deferred adjudication for a Class C misdemeanor.
- Another person pretended to be you when arrested. Now you have a criminal record erroneously attached to your name.
Effect: If granted an expunction, criminal justice agencies will cease to release your criminal record. There are a few exceptions stated in the law. For example, law enforcement agencies will have access to the information. So will some other government entities.
Furthermore, you may deny the existence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order. One exception: if you are questioned in a criminal proceeding about the expunction, you may not deny the arrest, but you may say that the matter has been expunged.
Back to top.
PETITION FOR NON-DISCLOSURE
If you have successfully completed deferred adjudication, you may be eligible for a petition for non-disclosure. It is important to note that completion of deferred adjudication does not automatically seal your record; you must file a petition of non-disclosure to seal the record.
Eligibility: First, you must successfully complete your deferred adjudication probation.
If you completed deferred adjudication for a felony, five (5) years from the date of the discharge must elapse before a petition for non-disclosure can be filed. For most misdemeanors, you can file immediately after completing the deferred adjudication. However, for some misdemeanors, you must wait two (2) years after the date of discharge before seeking a petition for non-disclosure.
Misdemeanors that require a two-year waiting period include assault, deadly conduct, disorderly conduct, and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
If the two or five year waiting period applies to you, you cannot be convicted or put on deferred adjudication for another offense during that period. Traffic tickets during the waiting period are okay.
Finally, you cannot have ever been convicted of certain offenses or placed on deferred adjudication for certain offenses. These offenses include any crime that requires registration as a sex offender, aggravated kidnapping, murder, injury to a child, stalking, and any offense that involves family violence.
Effect: If you are granted non-disclosure, criminal justice agencies will not be allowed to disclose information about the offense. Furthermore, you may deny that you were ever arrested, except in a future criminal prosecution.
The law allows for certain government agencies to obtain information about your offense. Some of those agencies include the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the Texas Department of Health, and the TABC.
Non-disclosure orders do not apply in a few other limited instances. For example, if you apply to be a teacher, a school may get information about your arrest. If you apply to be a nurse or a lawyer, the Boards that regulate those professions in Texas may get information about your offense. Or if you want to adopt a child, a non-disclosure order will not apply.
Back to top.
Contact Fred Dahr directly at 713.487.7575.
|
