Can I Get My Criminal History Expunged and Sealed?
Since 2013, the Indiana State Legislature has passed laws providing a means by which individuals can seek to expunge and seal their conviction or arrest records under a certain set of guidelines. Whether an individual’s records will be expunged or not largely depends upon the specific facts and circumstances of the crime.
What types of crimes can be expunged?
The best way to answer this broad question is to say what cannot be expunged. Generally, crimes that cannot be expunged include: homicide crimes, sex crimes (such as rape, child molest, child seduction, incest, etc.); official misconduct by a public servant, human and sexual trafficking crimes, and any individual who has been classified as a sex or violent offender. Additionally, if an individual is convicted of two or more felony offenses that involved the use of a deadly weapon and the felony offenses were not committed as part of the same crime, that individual is prohibited from seeking an expungement for those particular offenses. There may be additional crimes or elements of a crime that prevent an individual from being granted an expungement so it is highly advisable that you confer with an attorney before proceeding forward.
Other than the above mentioned crimes and other potential exceptions, thankfully, the legislature has written the expungement statute to include most other crimes including almost all alcohol, drug, and theft related offenses.
What happens to my record when the expungement is granted?
What happens to your record largely depends on the level of the conviction. For misdemeanor and Class D felony cases, the record is sealed from public access and may not be released to anyone except a prosecutor with a court order, a defense attorney with a court order, a probation department with a court order, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Indiana Supreme Court, the Board of Law Examiners, and the bureau of motor vehicle.
Most people who call with questions about the expungement process are calling because they are applying for a new job, applying for college, or would like to volunteer at their child’s school. Generally, these entities will run a professional background check on the individual and be able to see any criminal history that may be tied to them. If you have an old misdemeanor or D felony conviction, you have the ability to avoid this potentially awkward conversation by getting your record expunged. An expungement in this case will completely seal the record from public view to the point where the case will become undetectable on a background check. If you have a situation where you were arrested but not convicted either via a diversion, conditional discharge, or a dismissal, you can also get your record expunged and completely sealed from public view as described above.
However, if you have a Class A, B, or C felony, there is a different outcome. Someone who has one of these higher convictions does not get their record hidden from the public view, but rather marked expunged. What this means is that when someone searches your criminal history, the record is still viewable to the public but has the words “record expunged” marked on the file.
How many expungements can I file?
With limited exceptions, a person is only allowed one attempt at getting their criminal conviction record cleaned and expunged. This is why it is so important to make sure when you are filing an expungement, you know everything that needs to go into the expungement petition and proposed order. Additionally, because you are only able to file one expungement in your lifetime, it is highly advisable to obtain a background check to make sure you are including every possible case that may be tied to you. This can be done by going to the Indiana State Police website and running a “Limited Criminal History Search” which can be found here. A filing fee is required by the county clerk for each conviction expungement petition that is filed with that county. This fee general costs between $141 and $161.
One exception to the one expungement in a lifetime rule has to do with arrest expungements. An individual may file as many arrest expungements as needed as long as there is not a conviction. There is no filing fee for an arrest expungement.
How long do I need to wait in order to file my expungement?
If you just have an arrest record to expunge, you only have to wait one year from the date of arrest until you can file for an arrest expungement. For a misdemeanor or D Felony conviction expungement, you must wait five years from the date of conviction. For an A, B, or C level felony, you must wait the later of eight years from the date of the conviction or three years from the completion of the sentence imposed.
Other than the sealing my records, what else does an expungement do?
The expungement law specifically states “the civil rights of a person whose conviction has be expunged shall be restored, including the right to vote, to hold public office, and to serve as a juror.” A question often asked is whether an expungement will allow any individual to own or possess a firearm. The answer to this question hinges on what particular conviction the individual has but often times an expungement can restore an individual’s Second Amendment Rights. An additional benefit of an expungement is the ability to answer no on most applications that asks have you ever been convicted of a crime.
How long does filing an expungement take?
Finally, most people want to know how long it will take for the record to be removed from all public record searches. It depends on the amount of cases being expunged, the county in which the expungement is being filed, and how busy the particular court the expungement being filed in is. Generally, it takes about six months from the date of filing to have a person’s criminal history completely sealed from all searchable records.
As anyone can see, there are many factors that can go into an expungement and it is often advised to have an attorney help you through the process. Although the spirit behind the law is geared to giving individuals a second chance at life and clean their slate, courts still make expungement petitioners adhere strictly to the law. So, if you or a loved one may have made a few mistakes in the past that are holding you back and would like a fresh start, give the experienced former prosecutors at Banks & Brower, LLC a call today. We have the experience to get you through any situation you are facing. Give us a call 24/7/ 365 at 317.870.019 or email us at info@banksbrower.com.
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