The Texas legal system understands and recognizes that no one is perfect and allows for criminal records to be expunged, in certain situations. Expunging or clearing your record, allows for mistakes and lapses in judgment to be forgiven. However, filing for an expungement without the help of an attorney can have serious consequences. A small error can keep you from the expunction that you so desperately want. Before petitioning for expungement, contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible.
RECORDS ELIGIBLE FOR EXPUNCTION
- An arrest for a crime that wasn’t charged
- A criminal charge that was dismissed
- Certain misdemeanor juvenile charges
- Alcohol charges that involve a minor
- Arrest, conviction or charge that occurred due to identity theft
- Conviction of a crime that was acquitted
- Conviction of a crime that was pardoned
Now that you know what charges can be expunged, how does the petition process work?
THE PETITION PROCESS
The first step in gaining an expunction of a criminal record, is to file a Petition of Expunction with the District Court requesting that they grant an Order For Expunction. Making any errors in putting together a Petition of Expunction may be extremely harmful to your case. In this step, the help of an attorney is crucial to the success of gaining an expunction. This petition needs to include : the personal information of the individual charged, the offense charged, when the arrest occurred, when the alleged offense occurred, and the name of the arresting agency.
If the offense was charged you also need to obtain and include the cause number, the name of the Court and how the charge was resolved. After this petition is completed and all information is provided, the petition must then be notarized and include a blank Notice of Hearing, so that the Court can set a hearing for your case.
The Court will then schedule a hearing and send out a Notice of Hearing to all involved parties. The hearing will then be held and the party in question can contest the expunction.
If the request for expunction is granted, the individual who petitioned in the first place, must then provide an Order of Expunction to the Court. This step also often requires the help of an attorney. Most Courts expect for the individual at the hearing to have an Order already drafted prior to the hearing, and expect the individual to bring it to the hearing. The Court will review the Order, and alert the individual if any changes need to be made. If the Court does not change anything on the Order, they sign the Order and send a copy of the signed Order to any agency or party with the record that is being expunged.
If you have any remaining questions about how an expungement in Texas goes, or about any other criminal defense or personal injuries cases, contact the Kyle Law Firm today! The Kyle Law Firm is an experienced personal injury and criminal defense firm located in the New Braunfels area. The office can be reached at the local number of 830-620-9402 or the toll-free number of 830-620-9402.
