As a follow up to our Firm’s previous articles regarding the Indiana Second Chance Act for the Expungement of Criminal Records, Sealing of Arrest Records, Reduction of Felony to Misdemeanor, and Expungement of Juvenile Adjudication Records; SFT Lawyers wanted to provide the basic requirements to help the public in determining whether or not they might qualify to have their past discrepancies sealed or erased. Below is a list of some of the options available to individuals and a list of some of their basic requirements.
- CRIMINAL RECORD EXPUNGEMENT.
MISDEMEANOR CONVICTIONS:
– (5) five years must have passed from date of conviction; (some exceptions)
– Successful completion of the terms of probation or sentence;
– Current Valid Driver’s License (if suspended we may be able to help)
– No pending criminal charges against you;
D-FELONY CONVICTIONS:
– (8) eight years must have passed from date of conviction; (some exceptions)
– Successful completion of the terms of probation or sentence:
– Current Valid Driver’s License; (if suspended we may be able to help)
– No pending criminal charges against you;
A-FELONY, B-FELONY, C-FELONY
– (8) eight years must have passed from date of completion of sentence, probation
or parole; (some exceptions)
– Successful completion of the terms of probation or sentence:
– Current Valid Driver’s License; (if suspended we may be able to help)
– No pending criminal charges against you;
CRIMES of SERIOUS BODILY INJURY & PUBLIC OFFICE MISCONDUCT
– (10) ten years must have passed from date of completion of sentence, probation
or parole; (some exceptions)
– Successful completion of the terms of probation or sentence:
– Current Valid Driver’s License (if suspended we may be able to help)
– No pending criminal charges against you;
– Written consent of the prosecutor
* It is important to remember, this is not an exhaustive list of requirements and
every case will have a different set of circumstances which may have an impact
on the outcome of a petition for expungement. Additionally, some criminal
offenses are barred from being expunged, such as sexually based convictions.
- ARREST RECORD SEALING OR EXPUNGEMENT.
ARREST – NO CONVICTION or DIVERSION
– Unbeknownst to many people, a criminal background search will reveal both a
record of arrest and the record of conviction. This information is sometimes
available to the public in many formats such as online court record searches,
public police reports, and courthouse records. Additionally, employers doing
background checks often time see this information; even though you may not
have received a conviction, the record of your arrest may still remain.
DIVERSIONS: If you agreed to a diversion, deferral, or deferred prosecution
with or without probation and were told that the charges would be dropped after
completion of probation or a certain period of time, and no conviction would
result; the record of arrest will likely still remain on your record and available to
the public
– If you have questions regarding this type of situation it is very important to consult with an
attorney to help determine your rights.
- FELONY REDUCTION to MISDEMEANOR
A person may qualify to have a D-Felony reduced or converted and entered as
an A-Misdemeanor, if certain requirements are met. There is not an exact
science to obtaining this type of relief but some of these requirements include:
– Consent from the Prosecutor;
– Successful completion of parole or probation;
– Not a sex offender, violent offender, nor perjury,
– Hasn’t been convicted of another felony.
In many cases this form of relief may restore the convicted person’s right to vote, possess and/or carry a firearm, or allow the person to hold public office.
- JUVENILE CONVICTION ADJUDICATION
Even though juvenile conviction records are sealed, there are many reasons which a person may want to have his/her juvenile record expunged. The state of Indiana gives Juvenile courts the ability to expunge a juvenile criminal record; however, the law does not provide a specific parameters as to the requirements for this type of expungement. Therefore each case is handled differently by the courts and it is extremely important for people seeking for this type of expungement to seek legal advice from an attorney and at SFT Lawyers, LLP we can help with this type of expungement.Call us at (219) 841-5683 to speak with a Licensed Attorney.
By: BLAKE N. DAHL – Attorney at Law
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