How Long Does It Take To Get A Felony Expunged

Legal mistakes made in the past can haunt you for the rest of your life. Your legal history can exist accessed online by potential employers, neighbors, financial institutions, and even romantic partners. The stress of having an abort on your record tin can exist life-irresolute. Approximately 5.17 one thousand thousand people in the United states were dealing with the consequences of felony convictions in 2020.

If yous are one of these people, y'all are not alone and you may be interested to know that here is a way to erase everything, outset over, and practice things differently. In Texas, those with problematic legal histories may be able to get a fresh first by getting rid of the stigma fastened to their criminal tape by having their felony expunged. Expunging a felony in Texas or not disclosing one'due south records tin alleviate the burden of the stigma of a criminal record, however, non everyone qualifies. So, understanding the rules for expunging a felony is crucial. Detect how Texas expungement and non-disclosure laws piece of work, as this may be a life-irresolute process for you or someone you beloved.

Do I Qualify for Record Expunction in Texas?

Many people practice not realize they may qualify for expungement as it is non specifically mentioned in the constitution and may non realize they are entitled to it.

Expungement is a statutory criminal procedure. To authorize for an expunction of criminal records in Texas, yous must meet certain requirements:

You lot must take been arrested or wrongly arrested;
The accuse you want to erase must have been a misdemeanor or felony; and
You cannot take been convicted or served probation.

You may not qualify for an expunction if you were bedevilled of the charge, however some exceptions do exist including if your conviction was later reversed. If yous are acquitted or if you were pardoned of the offense, you might exist able to have misdemeanors expunged along with the felony charges.

Petitioners must meet one of the above requirements in order to submit a petition grade. If yous recollect you qualify, consult a lawyer who specializes in expunction.

It is important to note that detainees on community supervision are ineligible to have their criminal records expunged under state law. I exception is deferred adjudication, which refers to a unlike blazon of probation in Texas that allows you lot to keep your confidence off your tape. You may be placed on probation rather than a finding of guilt if yous plead guilty or entered a no-contest plea to the charges.

How Long Does the Expungement Procedure Accept?

The first footstep to having your tape expunged is to file a petition to get your criminal record expunged and appear in court. Expunction petitions can only be filed after the statute of limitations has expired or after the waiting menses has expired. Typically, it takes a month from when you file to when you get your expungement hearing. During the hearing, the court may grant the expungement, but the decision may not be registered for up to half-dozen months later.

In the upshot that you are not eligible for expungement, you may still be able to limit access to your criminal record by requesting an "order of non-disclosure" from the court. Once granted, your criminal tape is sealed from the full general public and merely sure authorities agencies can view it.

Texas Felony Expungement Police force

Individuals seek to have a felony expunged in Texas in order to seal or erase their criminal record. This is especially important for those who take been wrongfully arrested or charged with a law-breaking as a felony on your record can arrive hard for yous to get a loan, a job, or even rent a habitation.

Even if a felony arrest does not result in a confidence, it can yet cause personal and legal bug. The Texas expungement process allows individuals to officially claim that they never committed the felony. The act of erasing a record essentially wipes the slate clean, liberating those with a criminal tape. Records of proceedings and files volition besides be destroyed as role of the expungement process.

What Charges Tin Be Expunged?

Expungement is possible for the following scenarios:

Felony charges have been dropped or dismissed without action;
An individual was acquitted of the criminal offence later going to trial;
An innocent verdict was found past the court after an initial confidence; or
An individual was pardoned for the offense.

Expungement petitions tin can only exist filed after the statute of limitations or applicable waiting period has expired, if the charges were dropped, or the case was never brought forward.

How Much Does it Cost to Get a Felony Expunged in Texas?

The cost of expunging a felony is more often than not college than that of a misdemeanor. Typically, the price of expunging a felony will be at least $i,000 just it may reach as high as $ii,500. Expunging misdemeanors typically costs $1,000 or less.

For whatsoever record expungement or expunction, a filing fee of $300 applies and is a required part of the expungement process. In Texas, expungements typically cost effectually $one,500 on average. On top of the fees associated with the actual expungement, a lawyer tin can charge every bit much every bit $three,000 in order to expunge a criminal record.

How Practise You Get a Felony Off Your Record in Texas?

You lot may have difficulty filing for an expunction if you're not familiar with how to expunge a felony in Texas. A criminal lawyer tin aid if you're unfamiliar with the procedure. First and foremost, when you commit felony offenses, you are typically required to wait three years before you can file an expunction. When this time has passed, yous may file the expunction in the country where law enforcement arrested y'all. The Department of Public Safety volition besides crave that you provide appropriate identification and/or a fingerprint carte du jour.

Afterward y'all file all the paperwork, the clerk will set a date for your hearing. The hearing normally happens 30 days or more than later on you file all the paperwork. You tin ensure that everything is in society when you file your criminal case with an attorney.

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When Expunction is Not an Option, File a Non-Disclosure Petition

With an expunction, a person's criminal tape is erased, and when bachelor, it is the best option. Notwithstanding, information technology is not the merely option. Even if you are not eligible to apply for an expunction, depending on the circumstances of your case, you may be able to petition for an order of nondisclosure of your criminal records. The order of non-disclosure of a criminal record is simply the sealing of that record.

A non-disclosure works much like an expunction, simply information technology differs in one major way: your criminal records are non destroyed. Since they are not destroyed, your criminal records may still exist viewed by government agents. However, public access to this information will not exist available. Not-disclosure is highly beneficial to those who are looking for a job or flat, especially since, once sealed, prospective employers and apartment agencies cannot access these criminal records and cannot use them against you. At that place are specific requirements that must be met for nondisclosure in both felonies and misdemeanors, so it is important to seek assistance from a qualified attorney.

The Last Words

Having a criminal history can be a heavy brunt to lay aside when trying to move on with your life. Anybody deserves a second chance. Anyone with a prior record may have trouble getting a job, obtaining a loan, or fifty-fifty finding a romantic partner. The nondisclosure and expungement laws of Texas give those who qualify a new risk at a fresh start. A felony charge that you lot were wrongly defendant of may be eligible for expungement, or y'all may be able to request non-disclosure of the record. You lot volition accept the best adventure of stealing or destroying your records if you have an experienced lawyer on your side.