What Records Can Be Expunged? Attorney Chris Combs and Matt Brown from Combs Waterkotte answer the question, “What records can be expunged?” Criminal Defense Lawyers in Missouri.
Episode Transcript
Jessica Ambuehl: So if I have an arrest record, can that be expunged?
Matt Brown: Yeah, absolutely. There are certain situations where an arrest record can get expunged.
Typically if you’re getting your conviction expunged, it’s going to expunge everything, including the arrest.
Now there are also times where you get arrested for something but you don’t get a conviction. Meaning, maybe you had a trial in one, so you’re not convicted. Maybe you got arrested for something, but charges were never filed. That would be a separate expungement of your arrest record. And that is possible to do under certain situations. Absolutely.
Jessica Ambuehl: So just to be clear, what things can actually be expunged?
Matt Brown: On your arrest record it would expunge the actual arrest. A lot of times it’s gonna be different than your criminal record, because when you get arrested, the officer’s gonna input into their data system why they felt like they arrested you. But that could be different from the actual charge that you get charged with and go to court for.
Your arrest record, all that can be expunged under certain circumstances. Now what can be expunged as far as your criminal record goes? Again, that’s gonna depend on the type of charge or that you’ve been convicted of.
There’s a laundry list of felonies that cannot be expunged. There’s a short list of misdemeanors that can’t be expunged. All class A felonies cannot be expunged. Sex crimes cannot be expunged. Violent crimes cannot be expunged.
The easiest thing to do is pick up the phone, give us a call, we’ll run down that whole list for you and let you know if you’re eligible for an expungement.
Jessica Ambuehl: So you’re talking about arrest and conviction. Do you have to be expunged two times? Let’s say you get arrested but not convicted, then you get expunged, you can try for arrest. Let’s say you’re convicted. Do you get expunged for the conviction and the arrest?
Matt Brown: If you’re expunging your conviction, your criminal record, we just kind of lump that in and we request that anything related to that conviction, including the arrest, be expunged as well.
That’s why it’s important when you do these things that you’re filing the petition and you’re including the agency that arrested you. Because the agency that arrested you could be a small local municipality, but you’re actually going to court somewhere else. That’s why it’s very important that when you do this, you include all those agencies that have access to those records or that had a hand in your conviction or your arrest.
Jessica Ambuehl: And why not hire someone who does that for a living and knows what questions to ask?
Matt Brown: Exactly. Give us a call. Absolutely give us a call. We’ll be more than happy to help you.
Looking to get your record expunged in Missouri? Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP.
