when you get case expunged does district attorney need to agree

by Brigitte Schumm 4 min read

In some cases, you can get the district attorney to agree to an expunction order, meaning you do not have to go to court and argue for your expunction. Hire an Austin Expunction Attorney Figuring out if you qualify for an expunction and then properly filing the expunction petition can be complicated.

While most expungements are typically granted based upon eligibility, the fact remains that the state must still approve of the motion before it can be granted. This means that the District Attorney must allow the expungement to pass.

Full Answer

What Does an Expungement Do?

An expungement erases certain arrests, charges, and/or convictions from your public criminal record. An expungement is for specific charges. If you have two separate cases and only request or receive an expungement for one, only one case gets removed.

When Can You Get an Expungement?

Title 18, Section 9122 of the Pennsylvania Code provides for specific circumstances under which you can get an expungement.

How Can You Get an Expungement?

Expungements are not automatic. You have to file a petition with the county court or courts where you were convicted.

Are Expungements Automatic?

Expungements are not automatic. In some cases, you may be able to agree to an expungement as part of a pre-trial diversion program. In that situation, the expungement paperwork is completed when the case is resolved.

How Is an Expungement Different From an ARD or Section 17?

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition is a special way to resolve DUI and similar cases without a conviction. Section 17 is a pre-trial diversion program for minor drug offenses such as possession of marijuana or paraphernalia. Both programs can result in you not having a conviction on your record for the charged offense.

How Is an Expungement Different From Having a Case Sealed?

An expungement goes farther than sealing a case. An expungement requires that the records are removed from most government databases. Expunged records can only be accessed in extremely limited circumstances.

What Is Clean Slate?

Clean Slate allows certain criminal history to be automatically sealed if a person has completed all sentencing requirements and not been convicted of a new felony for at least ten years after the original offense. Clean Slate only seals records. It does not expunge them.

What Is Expungement of a Criminal Record?

Expungement refers to a legal process that destroys your criminal record as though it never happened, although in some cases a copy of the record may remain available to judicial and law enforcement officials for potential use in future court cases.

What Records Can Be Expunged?

Laws vary widely from state to state about which crimes can be expunged and when. In general, you may be able to have first-time misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies expunged, but violent felonies usually cannot be expunged.

General Procedure for Getting a Criminal Record Expunged

Specifics vary by state, but here is the general procedure you can expect:

What is expungement in criminal justice?

Expungement (also known as "expunction") is a process by which an individual's record of an arrest or criminal conviction is effectively "erased" as if it never happened. Since a conviction and even an arrest that doesn't result in a conviction can negatively impact many facets of your life, notably your ability to find gainful employment, ...

How long does it take to get a waiver from the IRS?

If you can prove financial hardship, you may be eligible for an indigent waiver. You can expect to wait about 30 to 60 days for a reply.

Can you get a DUI expunged in Illinois?

Illinois, for instance, does not allow for the expungement of DUIs; instead, the only way to erase a DUI conviction in the state is to get a pardon from the governor (which is very rare). Other factors that may influence eligibility include how much time has passed since the conviction, whether it is a first offense, ...

Can you expunge a DUI conviction?

Naturally, anyone whose record is tainted by a drunk driving conviction will want to know how to expunge a DUI. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, not all states allow for expungement and the ones that do typically have very tight restrictions. Although it is quite a complicated process, best performed with the counsel of an experienced criminal law ...

What do you need to expunge a case?

Each state has procedures and requirements that must be followed in order to receive an expungement. No matter where you are located, you will have to complete any probation or court-appointed classes associated with your case, as well as pay all required fines prior to petitioning for an expungement.

How long does it take to get a conviction expunged?

Depending on your conviction, it can take many months before everything is finalized and your record is cleaned.

What happens when you are arrested?

When you are arrested and charged with a crime, the details of the case are put online for all the world to see . A quick search online by anyone (e.g. family, friends, co-workers) will reveal any crime you have been charged with, as your public record is free for anyone to view. Having that information available to the public isn't always ...

Do arrests go on your record?

However, arrests will still remain on your record, as sealing an arrest is a different process than expungement. Since background checks are being required for more and more things these days, many people are choosing to go through the process of expunging their records.

Is a background check good?

Having that information available to the public isn't always a good thing. When you're applying for a job or trying to get housing from a potential landlord, a background check will likely be conducted. All of this information will come up for them to see.

Leo Kenneth Howell III

To answer your question directly, the initial court papers a person receives in a dui matter will almost always state that it is a 1st offense dui. However, the Commonwealth will amend that later to reflect the actual charge.

Robert John Schefter Jr

I agree with the prior answers. Despite expungement, the government keeps track of the prior offense and will count this as a second offense. The computer-generated coversheets in my area always list DUIs as a first offense for some reason, despite the actual number of the offense.

Ellis B. Klein

It is a 2nd. They will find out by checking the driving record which does not get expunged. As a 2nd offense there is mandatory prison time based on the test results. If he is in the highest level, the minimum will be 3 months in jail.#N#He need to retained an experienced attorney ASAP.

Robert C. Keller

There is a 10 year look back period. The expungement will not ell you. Retain an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Zachary Cooper

If you completed the ARD program for your first and had it expunged it would still count as a first. So this new DUI you received should count as a 2nd offense within 10 years. The paperwork usually will be amended to reflect that by the District Attorney's office.

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