Expungement in Texas: An Overview of the Process

A felony criminal record registered under an individual’s name can make it difficult for them to get a loan, apartment, or even a job. A past or current felony arrest is capable of causing severe legal and personal problems, even without a conviction.

Fortunately, in Texas, specific options are available to a particular class of people that helps in either erasing or in sealing a person’s criminal record.

An expunction is a ticket that allows an individual to start their life all over again. Expungement gets designed for people who have been wrongly charged with a criminal offense and arrested.

Expunction, once granted, allows a person to deny that their arrest ever happened in the first place. Further, all the records of the arrest and charges that followed the wrongful arrest and prosecution get eradicated.

The question raised is: What is Expungement in Texas? Which criminal records can get expunged in Texas? In this article, we have briefly discussed Expungement in Texas.

What can get expunged?

Felony charges without admission or proof of guilt can often get expunged. The ability to have your criminal record expunged is a creation of a statute. It means that an individual does not have a constitutional right to get their record deleted. For some reason, to expunge their criminal record, an individual must satisfy all the requirements set out in the expunction statute.

With limited exceptions of expungement, an individual cannot get a felony expunged if he or she got convicted of the charge. However, the person may be eligible for an expunction if their felony charge did not lead to a conviction.

Additionally, an individual was initially convicted of the charge and later got reversed; he or she may be able to get an expunction.

One may especially be able to get felony or misdemeanor records expunged in Texas if:

• The person went to trial and got acquitted of the offense
• The person got pardoned of the offense
• The felony charge was dismissed or dropped without action
• The person was convicted of the charge but later found to be innocent in the court of law

It is important to note that a person can only petition for an expunction after the statute of limitations or waiting period has expired in cases where the charges dropped, or the case was never brought forward. Click here to know more about expungement in Texas on thetexasattorney.com.

Petition for non-disclosure

As mentioned before, an expunction completely erases a person’s government criminal record. While this is the best option available, it is not the only option that an individual has. Depending on the case circumstances, a person may be eligible to file a petition for a non-disclosure of his/her criminal records.

A non-disclosure petition can get filed even if the person is not eligible to apply for an expunction. A non-disclosure, in simple terms, is the sealing of the criminal record of a person.

Non-disclosure operated similar to expunction, with one key difference. As opposite to expunction, in non-disclosure, the criminal record of the individual is not destroyed. Hence, any government agent can see the records.

It helps individuals trying to get a job or an apartment because prospective employers or apartment agencies cannot access the individual’s criminal records. Thus the information will not get used against the person.

Felony and misdemeanor cases may be eligible for non-disclosure, but as similar to expunction, specific requirements must be met by the person applying.

How can an attorney help understand your options for expungement in Texas?

Navigating the process of expungement and non-disclosure in Texas can be confusing as the law relating to them is constantly changing. If you are trying to understand your options, an experienced attorney is your best bet in such a situation.

An attorney works day in and day out on a similar case; hence they have the knowledge required to apply for expunction or non-disclosure. They will let you know if you and your case are eligible for either of the options and if so, they will help you take action to get your records sealed or erased.

To Conclude –

After being wrongly arrested in Texas, your life should not stop. The smarted way to start the petition for expungement in Texas is by seeking the help of an experienced attorney. If qualified, you can file a petition for expunction and start your life all over again.