Finally, some good news! Let me get you up to speed on expunctions and orders of non-disclosure.

An expunction is a process by which you destroy all records relating to your arrest and delete all computer references of your arrest from law enforcement agencies, courts, prosecutors and state and federal repositories of criminal records like the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Expunctions are generally governed by Article 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, although there are some other provisions that may entitle one to an expunction, including:

· Art 45.051 says that if a person gets a deferred disposition (similar to deferred adjudication) on a class C misdemeanor and successfully completes that deferred disposition, the matter may be expunged.

· Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code section 106.12 says that a minor who attains the age of 21, and has not been convicted of more than one violation of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, may apply to the court in which he was convicted for an expunction.

To be entitled to an expunction, your case must have, at minimum, been dismissed without any type of community supervision (probation or deferred adjudcation). There are other limitations on one’s right to an expunction that I won’t detail here. It is a very common misconception due to misstatements by lawyers, prosecutors and judges, but a successfully completed deferred adjudication does not entitle one to an expunction. If you receive a deferred adjudication, you will have a record of arrest on your criminal history for life. You will just not have been convicted of the offense in question, and you can deny being convicted. However, you cannot truly deny having been arrested. There is no way to have the record removed from your criminal history.

However, in some cases, if you successfully complete a deferred adjudication, you may be entitled to ask the court for an order of non-disclosure, which limits public access to your record of arrest. However, the record is still readily accessible for law enforcement, state licensing and many other governmental purposes.

For more information about expunctions and orders of non-disclosure, please contact me.