Expungement

Expungement law deals with the sealing of arrest records in a criminal case.  It can involve the sealing of the district court file or it can involve the sealing of all arrest records involved with the criminal case and sealing your official criminal history record.  In Oklahoma there are several types of expungements a person can receive.  Most common are those found in Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

District Court Expungement

Title 22, section 991C allows for the sealing of the district courts file.  To qualify for this type of expungement you must have received a deferred sentence.  A deferred sentence is a sentence where a judge finds you guilty, but delays or postpones sentencing you for a period of time.  During the deferment period, the court will place upon you certain probation requirements.  These requirements may include payment of fines and court costs, completion of a DUI school, obtaining an evaluation and any follow-up treatment regarding substance abuse, and community service.   

If all those requirements placed on you by the district court judge are satisfied, your case would then be in a position to be dismissed at the time the deferment ends.  Once the case has been dismissed, you can petition the court to expunge your record under Title 22 section 991C.  If successful, your file with the district court clerk would be sealed and any information that has been placed on the Internet regarding your arrest and sentence would be removed.  

This type of expungement DOES NOT seal or erase any of your arrest records or your criminal history record with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI) or the FBI.  

Arrest Record and OSBI/FBI Expungement

SEALING criminal arrest records and the record held by the OSBI requires qualification under Title 22 section 18. There are currently 10 separate categories for which you may qualify.  These sub-sections are as follows:

Persons authorized to file a motion for expungement, as provided herein, must be within one of the following categories:

      1. The person has been acquitted;

      2. The conviction was reversed with instructions to dismiss by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, or an    appellate court of competent jurisdiction reversed the conviction and the district attorney subsequently dismissed the charge;

      3. The factual innocence of the person was established by the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence subsequent to conviction, including a person who has been released from prison at the time innocence was established;

      4. The person has received a full pardon on the basis of a written finding by the Governor of actual innocence for the crime for which the claimant was sentenced;

      5. The person was arrested and no charges of any type, including charges for an offense different than that for which the person was originally arrested are filed or charges are dismissed within one (1) year of the arrest, or all charges are dismissed on the merits;

      6. The statute of limitations on the offense had expired and no charges were filed;

      7. The person was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time the offense was committed and the person has received a full pardon for the offense;

      8. The offense was a misdemeanor, the person has not been convicted of any other misdemeanor or felony, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the judgment was entered;

      9. The offense was a nonviolent felony, as defined in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the person has received a full pardon for the offense, the person has not been convicted of any other misdemeanor or felony, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the conviction; or 

      10. The person has been charged or arrested or is the subject of an arrest warrant for a crime that was committed by another person who has appropriated or used the person’s name or other identification without the person’s consent or authorization. 

For purposes of this act, "expungement" shall mean the sealing of criminal records.  Records expunged pursuant to paragraph 10 of this section shall be sealed to the public but not to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

The most common category for a person to qualify under is subsection 5.  This category encompasses several types of individuals.  First is the individual who was arrested and against whom no charges were filed; next is the individual who received a deferred sentence and is dismissed within one year from the date of arrest.

Another popular category is the individual who received either a deferred sentence or was convicted of a misdemeanor and the offense happened more than ten (10) years ago, has had no other charges filed against him/her, and has no charges pending.  Therefore, if you have a conviction for a misdemeanor  ten or more years ago, that record may be expunged and your OSBI record may be sealed.

If you qualify under Title 22 section 18 to have your record expunged, a Petition or Motion must be filed in the district court where the charge was filed.  Notice must then be given to the district attorney, arresting agency, OSBI and any other agency that may have relevant information relating to sealing your criminal record.  After notice has been given, a hearing will be held and if the court finds that the harm to the interested party's privacy, or the dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences outweigh the public interest of obtaining such records, the court will order those records sealed.

Benefits of Expungement

If you prevail at your hearing and the records are sealed the benefits to you are:

  1. The official action against you will be deemed nver to have occurred; you, and all criminal justice agencies may answer, when questioned, that no action ever occurred, and no record exists relating to that action;
  2. As an applicant to potential employers, educational institutions, and state and local government agencies, you shall not be required to disclose on your application or in an interview any information contained in sealed records, and 
  3. An applicant, you may state that no action ever occurred, nor will you be required to provide information that has been sealed.  Your application may not be denied solely because of a refusal to disclose arrest or criminal record information that has been sealed.

The obvious benefits to having your criminal record expunged are far-reaching. In most cases, it will allow you to avoid disclosing that an expunged crime ever occurred.  When an employer seeks to do a background investigation this information should not be found, which will allow you to obtain better employment in the future.  It will also allow you to avoid disclosing any information regarding the arrest on an application for entry into schools of higher education within the State of Oklahoma. 

Be advised, there are private companies who gather arrest information prior to it being expunged.  The longer you wait to get advise, can affect the possible outcome of your expungement.   I will explain that process to you upon request.