Sealing and Expunging Criminal Records in Florida
This process is governed by Section 943.045 of the Florida Statutes. Expunction is like a magic wand that wipes out all traces of a criminal record. Sealing is like using White-Out to redact a criminal record. If you don’t know what White-Out is, feel free to Google it. Some state agencies, mostly law enforcement agencies, can see through the White-Out. However, for most purposes, the record is invisible.
A Tampa probation and expungement lawyer keeps working for defendants after the judge’s gavel falls. We handle probation and parole violation matters, as well as expunction and sealing matters. The many benefits of these proceedings include avoiding discovery of a criminal incident by colleges and universities, protection against forced disclosure to employers and other interested persons, preventing a record from popping up unexpectedly on background checks, and circumventing workplace policies that prevent advancement for employees with criminal histories.
Sealing a Record
Most first-time offenders are eligible for record sealing, even if they plead guilty to the offense. Florida, unlike other states, doesn’t have an automatic sealing law, even for juvenile offenses. If you want this relief, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer must ask for it.
Unless the matter involved a prohibited offense, defendants are eligible for record sealing as soon as they finish servicing their sentences, whether that sentence was jail or probation. Some ineligible offenses include:
- Most domestic violence offenses,
- Drug trafficking,
- Aggravated felonies (murder, child abuse, sexual battery, etc.), and
- Most sex offenses.
Tampa criminal defense lawyers often have an eye toward sealing driving plea bargain negotiations. Domestic battery is a good example. This offense cannot be sealed, but a conviction for ordinary assault is an eligible offense. Therefore, if prosecutors agree to change the charges, the defendant might agree to pay a higher fine or serve a longer probationary term.
These qualifications are only the minimum qualifications. The judge won’t sign the petition unless sealing is in the best interests of society and the best interests of the defendant.
Expunging a Record
Expungement eligibility requirements are much more rigorous. In addition to a first-time offense requirement, the to-be-expunged charge must have been nol-prossed or no-billed.
Nol-prosse (not prosecuted) is basically a pretrial dismissal based on lack of probable cause, such as a lack of evidence. Dismissals based on prosecutorial discretion or made as part of a plea bargain usually aren’t eligible for expungement, although they might be eligible for sealing.
Once again, an attorney’s negotiation skills often come into play. It usually costs prosecutors nothing to add an NP note to a dismissal. A Tampa criminal defense lawyer must simply ask, at least in most cases.
Judges usually reject bare-bones expungement and sealing requests. They usually approve these requests if the defendant’s probation officer, and any alleged victim, agrees to the petition. The judge might approve the petition if the probation officer and/or alleged victim agrees not to fight it.
One final word about executive pardons, which basically have the same effect as expungements. An executive pardon is a long shot, but certainly not a shot in the dark. In most cases, this option is at least worth exploring, especially if the defendant completed his/her sentence at least ten years earlier. After that much time passes, most people don’t care anymore.
Connect With a Diligent Hillsborough County Attorney
A criminal charge is not the same thing as a criminal conviction. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, contact the OA Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0900-0999/0943/Sections/0943.045.html
