Seal Your Record | Expunction | Non-Disclosure
Do you have a previous criminal arrest? Are you looking to seal your record? Does your record qualify? Expunctions & Non-Disclosures provide an opportunity in Texas to seal or eliminate a criminal arrest.
We offer experienced criminal defense lawyers and former Tarrant County prosecutors with the expertise to provide assistance in reviewing your case to see if you qualify, as well as help guide you through the legal process. All of our criminal defense attorneys are former prosecutors with over 200 combined jury trials. We have offices in Fort Worth and Colleyville, Texas.
We represent clients on all types of State criminal charges in Tarrant County, Texas, including drug possession charges, DWI, marijuana charges, sex crimes, crimes against children, theft, fraud, white collar crimes, gun and weapons charges, assault, murder, and violent crimes.
If you are looking to hire Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC on a pending charge, it’s important to know that our team strives to get the best results and to get an outcome that will allow you to seek an expunction or non-disclosure in the future.
Seal Your Record with an Expunction or Non-Disclosure
Don’t let an arrest prevent you from getting your dream job. Let us help you seal your record.
Expunctions and Non-Disclosures in Tarrant County, Texas | Sealing your Record
EXPERIENCED DEFENSE LAWYER CAN HELP WITH SEALING YOUR RECORD
Getting arrested can be a very difficult and stressful experience, especially because of the impact it can have on your life, whether you are looking to keep or maintain a job, get an apartment, get a loan, keep a security clearance, own or possess a gun, or get accepted into college. All of these are severely impacted by a criminal arrest. Which is why getting your record sealed can be a very important step in the criminal process. Here is some information and answers to common questions regarding getting your record sealed.
WHAT IS MY RECORD?
Anytime someone is arrested in Texas, than that arrest gets recorded on the Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) databases. That is the law enforcement “record” and that is where information generally gets pulled when someone is doing a background check. In addition to the arrest, any subsequent action on that arrest (dismissal, conviction, probation, etc.) would also get recorded on your record.
DOES YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD AUTOMATICALLY GET SEALED WHEN A CASE IS DISMISSED?
No. It is a very common misconception that once a case is dropped or dismissed that your record is now clear, but that’s not how it works. The dismissal would end up on your record, which is helpful, but the arrest itself would also still appear and it still might be something you would need to address if someone was doing a background check. Once you get arrested, that arrest stays on your record FOREVER unless you file a lawsuit for an expunction or Petition for a Non-Disclosure.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SEAL YOUR RECORD?
Texas Law allows for criminal records to be sealed under two primary types of seals:
- Expunction (Completed Erased); or
- Petition for a Non-Disclosure (Sealed).
Texas law also allows for certain low level first-time DWI convictions and deferred adjudications to be Non-Disclosed. Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC helps clients with all three of these types of legal procedures.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN EXPUNCTION AND A NON-DISCLOSURE?
The goal for both is to seal your record from public view, but there are differences. An expunction is a lawsuit that if granted by the Court, it orders anyone who has any records of your arrest to destroy them, which includes the arresting agency, the DA’s office, and any government database or entity that may have posted your arrest information online. The goal with an expunction is to completely erase any record that you were ever arrested (“like it never happened”).
A Petition for a Non-Disclosure is similar, but with a non-disclosure law enforcement is allowed to keep the records – they just cannot do anything with them (there are exceptions for DWI specific Non-Disclosures). It is generally against the law for law enforcement to disclose to the public that you were ever arrested if a non-disclosure is granted by the Court.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I QUALIFY?
We are here to help with that part of it because there are a number of factors involved, and it does take a level of expertise to sort it out sometimes, but here are some of the main questions we are looking at?
- What were you originally arrested for (i.e. what was the charge you are now trying to seal)?
- What was the outcome of the case?
- Was the case dismissed, dropped, or No-Billed by a Grand Jury?
- Were you ever put on probation (deferred or straight) for the charge?
- Was it a felony or a misdemeanor?
- How long has it been since you are arrested, because in most cases, there is a waiting period before a case is eligible for an expunction or a non-disclosure?
- Was there any other cases associated with this charge?
- Have you ever been arrested before or after this charge?
In general, it’s important that the case ends up dismissed to qualify for any of these, which is why we always strive to get outcomes that end up dismissed when we are handling the original case.
CAN I GET A CASE SEALED IF I WAS CONVICTED?
As a general rule, the answer is no, but there are some exceptions, typically involving offenses committed as a minor and certain first time DWI convictions. Most expunctions and non-disclosures require the criminal case to have been dismissed, dropped, or no-billed as a final outcome.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT TO GET MY RECORD CLEARED?
That depends on a number of factors, including whether the case was a misdemeanor or a felony and how the case was disposed of. For misdemeanors expunctions (i.e. for cases that were outright dismissed), there is generally a 2-year waiting period from the date of arrest (misdemeanors have a 2 year Statute of Limitations). For felony expunctions (felonies that were never filed, dismissed, or no-billed by a Grand Jury), there is generally a 3-year waiting period from the date of arrest (most felonies have a 3 year Statute of Limitations). There are exceptions in Tarrant County for Diversion Programs that shorten the waiting period for an expunction.
For cases eligible for a Petition for Non-Disclosure, it depends on whether it was a misdemeanor or felony. For misdemeanors, it’s a 2 year waiting period. For felonies, the general rule for eligible cases is that there is a 5-year waiting period from the date the case is finally disposed. For example, if you completed deferred probation on a felony drug charge, then the waiting period is 5 years from the date you successfully completed probation and the case was dismissed.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SEAL YOUR RECORD?
Background checks. Whether you are applying for a job, for a loan, for a mortgage, or you are trying to go to school, most places do a background check. Having an arrest on your record can make it a lot more difficult to accomplish any one of those things. So it’s vitally important to seal your record.
If you have a question or need us to review your case to see if your qualify for an expunction or non-disclosure, call for a free confidential consultation – 817-334-7900.