Clearing Criminal Records
Any type of criminal record can really hold you back in life. More and more data is available on the internet and more and more businesses are conducting criminal background checks these days. Having a criminal allegation on your background can keep you from getting a job or advancing at the job you have. A criminal allegation on your background can get you excluded from apartment complexes and condominiums. Many lenders will not extend credit to a person that has a criminal allegation in their history. That can keep you from buying a home or financing a car. All of these bad things can and do happen even if you haven’t been convicted. We can help you clean up your record so you do not have any of these problems. Scroll down for more information regarding Deferred Adjudication Non-Disclosure Orders, Expunctions, Juvenile Record Sealing, and Pardons.
Do I Have a Record?
You have a criminal record if you have ever been arrested. Even if the case was dismissed, your record still will show that you have been arrested for a crime. If you were found not guilty at a trial, your record will still show that you have been arrested and charged with a crime.
If you have ever received deferred-adjudication probation, you have a criminal record. Your record will show you have been arrested, charged with a crime, and placed on deferred-adjudication probation. Though a case may have been “legally dismissed” at the end of deferred adjudication probation, the record of the case is still publicly available. If your attorney told you that “this is deferred it will not be on your record,” you received inaccurate information. It is not a conviction on your record but, it is on your record in a way that can hurt you.
We Can Help
Attorney Daniel Peugh has years of experience helping people clear their criminal backgrounds. Daniel Peugh has personally handled hundreds of cases involving expunctions, non-disclosures, and juvenile record sealing. Below you will find information regarding Deferred Adjudication Non-Disclosure Orders, Expunctions, Juvenile Record Sealing, and Pardons. Mr. Peugh knows which solution is right for you.
Deferred Adjudication Non-Disclosure Orders
If you were placed on deferred-adjudication probation and you successfully completed it, an Order of Non-Disclosure is the way to clear your background. Did you know that once you have been arrested and charged with a crime, your records are available to the public? Anyone may disclose and distribute the information. There is a common misconception that deferred-adjudication probations do not appear on a person's record. The truth is, your record will show you have been arrested, charged and placed on deferred-adjudication probation for a crime. Potential employers, loan officers and landlords can easily access the information, which may prevent you from getting a job, a mortgage or an apartment. Even though you may have received deferred-adjudication probation, most people do not understand what that means. Unfortunately, a potential employer or loan officer might never give you a chance to explain the situation.
In September 2003, the Texas legislature passed a law that allows you to permanently seal those records from public view. You may be eligible if you have successfully completed your deferred-adjudication probation. However, the records will not be sealed automatically. You must take action to do so.
If you would like attorney Daniel Peugh to help you get your records sealed, please call our office at (940) 566-0271 to arrange an appointment to discuss your situation with our attorney.
Parameters For Deferred-Adjudication Nondisclosure Orders
- The plea must have been guilty or no contest. (If you entered a plea of not guilty and were acquitted in trial, you would be eligible for an expunction rather than an order of nondisclosure.)
- Excluded offenses:
• murder
• aggravated kidnapping
• injury to a child/elderly person
• abandonment/endangerment of a child
• violation of a protective order
• stalking
• sex offenses
• family violence
- Certain misdemeanors require a five-year waiting period:
Unlawful restraint, homosexual conduct, public lewdness, indecent exposure, assault, deadly conduct, leaving a child in a vehicle, bigamy, enticing a child, harboring a runaway, violation of protective order for bias or prejudice, advertising for placement of a child, disorderly conduct, riot, obstructing a roadway, disrupting a meeting, false report, silent or abusive 911, interference with emergency call, harassment, abuse of a corpse, cruelty to animals, dog fighting, destruction of flag, discharge of firearm, unlawful transfer of weapon, use of laser pointer, UCW, possession of firearm, unlawful transfer of weapon, hoax bombs, making firearm accessible to child, attempted state jail felonies
- All non-excluded felonies have a five-year waiting period.
- For "waiting period offenses," the defendant may not have been convicted or received deferred adjudication for a new offense (other than a fine-only traffic offense) during the waiting period.
- Even where no statutory preclusion exists, the state may oppose any petition for nondisclosure based on the "best interest of justice."
Expunctions
If the criminal allegation against you was dismissed, no billed by the grand jury, or if you were found not guilty at trial an expunction is the way to get the matter off of your record. Also, if you are successful with a Petition for Pardon, a Pardon entitles you to an expunction. Just being pardoned does not clean-up your record. You must take the next step and file for an expunction based on your Pardon or you will continue to have a criminal record.
Article 55.01. Right To Expunction
(a) A person who has been arrested for commission of either a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged if:
(1) the person is tried for the offense for which the person was arrested and is:
(A) acquitted by the trial court, except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section; or
(B) convicted and subsequently pardoned; or
(2) each of the following conditions exist:
(A) an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a felony has not been presented against the person for an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested or, if an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a felony was presented, the indictment or information has been dismissed or quashed, and:
(i) the limitations period expired before the date on which a petition for expunction was filed under Article 55.02; or
(ii) the court finds that the indictment or information was dismissed or quashed because the presentment had been made because of mistake, false information, or other similar reason indicating absence of probable cause at the time of the dismissal to believe the person committed the offense or because it was void;
(B) the person has been released and the charge, if any, has not resulted in a final conviction and is no longer pending and there was no court ordered community supervision under Article 42.12; and
(C) the person has not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section, a district court may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a person who has been arrested for commission of a felony or misdemeanor under the procedure established under Article 55.02 of this code if the person is:
(1) tried for the offense for which the person was arrested;
(2) convicted of the offense; and
(3) acquitted by the court of criminal appeals.
(c) A court may not order the expunction of records and files relating to an arrest for an offense for which a person is subsequently acquitted, whether by the trial court or the court of criminal appeals, if the offense for which the person was acquitted arose out of a criminal episode, as defined by Section 3.01, Penal Code, and the person was convicted of or remains subject to prosecution for at least one other offense occurring during the criminal episode.
(d) A person is entitled to have any information that identifies the person, including the person's name, address, date of birth, driver's license number, and Social Security number, contained in records and files relating to the arrest of another person expunged if:
(1) the information identifying the person asserting the entitlement to expunction was falsely given by the person arrested as the arrested person's identifying information without the consent of the person asserting the entitlement; and
(2) the only reason for the information identifying the person asserting the entitlement being contained in the arrest records and files of the person arrested is that the information was falsely given by the person arrested as the arrested person's identifying information.
Article 55.02. Procedure For Expunction
1. At the request of the defendant and after notice to the state and a hearing, the trial court presiding over the case in which the defendant was acquitted shall enter an order of expunction for a person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A) not later than the 30th day after the date of the acquittal. Upon acquittal, the court shall advise the defendant of the right to expunction. The defendant shall provide to the court all of the information required in a petition for expunction under Section 2(b).
2. (a) A person who is entitled to expunction of records and files under Article 55.01(a)(1)(B), 55.01(a)(2), or 55.01(d) or a person who is eligible for expunction of records and files under Article 55.01(b) may file an ex parte petition for expunction in a district court for the county in which:
(1) the petitioner was arrested;
(2) the person who falsely identified himself or herself as the petitioner was arrested, if the petitioner relies on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d); or
(3) the offense was alleged to have occurred.
(b) The petition must be verified and shall include the following or an explanation for why one or more of the following is not included:
(1) the petitioner's:
(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver's license number;
(F) Social Security number; and
(G) address at the time of the arrest;
(2) the offense charged against the petitioner or the person described by Subsection (a)(2);
(3) the date the offense charged against the petitioner or the person described by Subsection (a)(2) was alleged to have been committed;
(4) the date the petitioner or the person described by Subsection (a)(2) was arrested;
(5) the name of the county where the petitioner or the person described by Subsection (a)(2) was arrested and if the arrest occurred in a municipality, the name of the municipality;
(6) the name of the agency that arrested the petitioner or the person described by Subsection (a)(2);
(7) the case number and court of offense; and
(8) a list of all law enforcement agencies, jails or other detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting attorneys, correctional facilities, central state depositories of criminal records, and other officials or agencies or other entities of this state or of any political subdivision of this state and of all central federal depositories of criminal records that the petitioner has reason to believe have records or files that are subject to expunction.
(c) The court shall set a hearing on the matter no sooner than thirty days from the filing of the petition and shall give reasonable notice of the hearing to each official or agency or other entity named in the petition by certified mail, return receipt requested, and such entity may be represented by the attorney responsible for providing such agency with legal representation in other matters.
(d) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to expunction of any records and files that are the subject of the petition, it shall enter an order directing expunction.
3.
(a) In an order of expunction issued under this article, the trial court shall require any state agency that sent information concerning the arrest to a central federal depository to request such depository to return all records and files subject to the order of expunction. The person who is the subject of the expunction order or an agency protesting the expunction may appeal the court's decision in the same manner as in other civil cases.
(b) The order of expunction entered by the trial court shall have attached and incorporate by reference a copy of the judgment of acquittal and shall include:
(1) the following information on the person who is the subject of the expunction order:
(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver's license number; and
(F) Social Security number;
(2) the offense charged against the person who is the subject of the expunction order;
(3) the date the person who is the subject of the expunction order was arrested;
(4) the case number and court of offense; and
(5) the tracking incident number (TRN) assigned to the individual incident of arrest under Article 60.07(b)(1) by the Department of Public Safety.
(c) When the order of expunction is final, the clerk of the court shall send a certified copy of the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Crime Records Service of the Department of Public Safety and by hand delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, to each official or agency or other entity of this state or of any political subdivision of this state designated by the person who is the subject of the order. The clerk of the court must receive a receipt for each order delivered by hand under this subsection. The Department of Public Safety shall notify any central federal depository of criminal records by any means, including electronic transmission, of the order with an explanation of the effect of the order and a request that the records in possession of the depository, including any information with respect to the order, be destroyed or returned to the court.
(d) All returned receipts received by the clerk from notices of the hearing and copies of the order shall be maintained in the file on the proceedings under this chapter.
4.
(a) If the state establishes that the person who is the subject of an expunction order is still subject to conviction for an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested because the statute of limitations has not run and there is reasonable cause to believe that the state may proceed against the person for the offense, the court may provide in its order that the law enforcement agency and the prosecuting attorney responsible for investigating the offense may retain any records and files that are necessary to the investigation. In the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order on the basis of an acquittal, the court may provide in the expunction order that the law enforcement agency and the prosecuting attorney retain records and files if:
(1) the records and files are necessary to conduct a subsequent investigation and prosecution of a person other than the person who is the subject of the expunction order; or
(2) the state establishes that the records and files are necessary for use in:
(A) another criminal case, including a prosecution, motion to adjudicate or revoke community supervision, parole revocation hearing, mandatory supervision revocation hearing, punishment hearing, or bond hearing; or
(B) a civil case, including a civil suit or suit for possession of or access to a child.
(b) Unless the person who is the subject of the expunction order is again arrested for or charged with an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested or unless the court provides for the retention of records and files under Subsection (a) of this section, the provisions of Articles 55.03 and 55.04 of this code apply to files and records retained under this section.
5.
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), on receipt of the order, each official or agency or other entity named in the order shall:
(1) return all records and files that are subject to the expunction order to the court or, if removal is impracticable, obliterate all portions of the record or file that identify the person who is the subject of the order and notify the court of its action; and
(2) delete from its public records all index references to the records and files that are subject to the expunction order.
(b) Except in the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order on the basis of an acquittal or an expunction order based on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d), the court may give the person who is the subject of the order all records and files returned to it pursuant to its order.
(c) Except in the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order based on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d), if an order of expunction is issued under this article, the court records concerning expunction proceedings are not open for inspection by anyone except the person who is the subject of the order unless the order permits retention of a record under Section 4 of this article and the person is again arrested for or charged with an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested or unless the court provides for the retention of records and files under Section 4(a) of this article. The clerk of the court issuing the order shall obliterate all public references to the proceeding and maintain the files or other records in an area not open to inspection.
(d) Except in the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order on the basis of an acquittal or an expunction order based on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d), the clerk of the court shall destroy all the files or other records maintained under Subsection (c) of this section on the first anniversary of the date the order of expunction is issued unless the records or files were released under Subsection (b) of this section.
(e) The clerk shall certify to the court the destruction of files or other records under Subsection (d) of this section.
(f) On receipt of an order granting expunction to a person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(d), each official, agency, or other entity named in the order:
(1) shall:
(A) obliterate all portions of the record or file that identify the petitioner; and
(B) substitute for all obliterated portions of the record or file any available information that identifies the person arrested; and
(2) may not return the record or file or delete index references to the record or file.
Article 55.03. Effect Of Expunction.
When the order of expunction is final:
(1) the release, dissemination, or use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited;
(2) except as provided in Subdivision 3 of this article, the person arrested may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order; and
(3) the person arrested or any other person, when questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about an arrest for which the records have been expunged, may state only that the matter in question has been expunged.
Article 55.04. Violation Of Expunction Order
1. A person who acquires knowledge of an arrest while an officer or employee of the state or of any agency or other entity of the state or any political subdivision of the state and who knows of an order expunging the records and files relating to that arrest commits an offense if he knowingly releases, disseminates, or otherwise uses the records or files.
2. A person who knowingly fails to return or to obliterate identifying portions of a record or file ordered expunged under this chapter commits an offense.
3. An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor.
Expunctions for Class C (fine only) Misdemeanors
Sealing Juvenile Records
If you were charged with a crime before you turned 17 years of age, you have a Juvenile Record. Juvenile Records are, by law, non-public. Unfortunately, that does NOT mean that your juvenile record cannot hurt you. Many public data websites have come and gone since the dawn of the internet. Not all of the managers of these websites knew or cared about the confidentiality laws that protect juvenile records. As these internet businesses continue to come and go your juvenile record could be made public. Just two or three short years ago my juvenile record sealing business was booming because private websites were not obeying the law and it was hurting my clients.
Even Juvenile Records that are kept confidential can still cause a problem for adults with juvenile issues in their background. Juvenile records are only kept confidential from the general public. The government, all governmental entities, still have access to juvenile records. I am frequently called on to seal juvenile records because my clients are told by military recruiters, who as federal government employees have access to the juvenile records, that they cannot be commissioned into the service with their current juvenile record.
The problems extend beyond military service. Teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, plumbers, and many-many more professions are licensed by the State. State Licensing Boards are governmental entities and, as such, they have access to juvenile records. You can be denied a license to practice your profession if you have a juvenile record. Many jobs require bonding or security clearances. A juvenile record can keep you from getting a job that has security clearance requirements.
I have handled hundreds of cases sealing juvenile records. Give me a call before your juvenile past causes you a problem.
Texas Family Code Sec. 58.003. Sealing Of Juvenile Records.
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), on the application of a person who has been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, or a person taken into custody to determine whether the person engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, on the juvenile court's own motion the court shall order the sealing of the records in the case if the court finds that:
(1) two years have elapsed since final discharge of the person or since the last official action in the person's case if there was no adjudication; and
(2) since the time specified in Subdivision (1), the person has not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision and no proceeding is pending seeking conviction or adjudication.
(b) A court may not order the sealing of the records of a person who has received a determinate sentence for engaging in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law listed in Section 53.045 or engaging in habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031.
(c) Subject to Subsection (b), a court may order the sealing of records concerning a person adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony only if:
(1) the person is 21 years of age or older;
(2) the person was not transferred by a juvenile court under Section 54.02 to a criminal court for prosecution;
(3) the records have not been used as evidence in the punishment phase of a criminal proceeding under Section 3(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(4) the person has not been convicted of a penal law of the grade of felony after becoming age 17.
(d) The court may grant the relief authorized in Subsection (a) at any time after final discharge of the person or after the last official action in the case if there was no adjudication. If the child is referred to the juvenile court for conduct constituting any offense and at the adjudication hearing the child is found to be not guilty of each offense alleged, the court shall immediately order the sealing of all files and records relating to the case.
(e) Reasonable notice of the hearing shall be given to:
(1) the person who made the application or who is the subject of the records named in the motion;
(2) the prosecuting attorney for the juvenile court;
(3) the authority granting the discharge if the final discharge was from an institution or from parole;
(4) the public or private agency or institution having custody of records named in the application or motion; and
(5) the law enforcement agency having custody of files or records named in the application or motion.
(f) A copy of the sealing order shall be sent to each agency or official named in the order.
(g) On entry of the order:
(1) all law enforcement, prosecuting attorney, clerk of court, and juvenile court records ordered sealed shall be sent before the 61st day after the date the order is received to the court issuing the order;
(2) all records of a public or private agency or institution ordered sealed shall be sent before the 61st day after the date the order is received to the court issuing the order;
(3) all index references to the records ordered sealed shall be deleted before the 61st day after the date the order is received, and verification of the deletion shall be sent before the 61st day after the date of the deletion to the court issuing the order;
(4) the juvenile court, clerk of court, prosecuting attorney, public or private agency or institution, and law enforcement officers and agencies shall properly reply that no record exists with respect to the person on inquiry in any matter; and
(5) the adjudication shall be vacated and the proceeding dismissed and treated for all purposes other than a subsequent capital prosecution, including the purpose of showing a prior finding of delinquent conduct, as if it had never occurred.
(g-1) Any records collected or maintained by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, including statistical data submitted under Section 141.044, Human Resources Code, are not subject to a sealing order issued under this section.
(h) Inspection of the sealed records may be permitted by an order of the juvenile court on the petition of the person who is the subject of the records and only by those persons named in the order.
(i) On the final discharge of a child or on the last official action in the case if there is no adjudication, the child shall be given a written explanation of the child's rights under this section and a copy of the provisions of this section.
(j) A person whose records have been sealed under this section is not required in any proceeding or in any application for employment, information, or licensing to state that the person has been the subject of a proceeding under this title and any statement that the person has never been found to be a delinquent child shall never be held against the person in any criminal or civil proceeding.
(k) A prosecuting attorney may, on application to the juvenile court, reopen at any time the files and records of a person adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony sealed by the court under this section for the purposes of Sections 12.42(a)-(c) and (e), Penal Code.
(l) On the motion of a person in whose name records are kept or on the court's own motion, the court may order the destruction of records that have been sealed under this section if:
(1) the records relate to conduct that did not violate a penal law of the grade of felony or a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail;
(2) five years have elapsed since the person's 16th birthday; and
(3) the person has not been convicted of a felony.
(m) On request of the Department of Public Safety, a juvenile court shall reopen and allow the department to inspect the files and records of the juvenile court relating to an applicant for a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(n) A record created or maintained under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, may not be sealed under this section if the person who is the subject of the record has a continuing obligation to register under that chapter.
(o) An agency or official named in the order that cannot seal the records because the information required in the order under Subsection (p) is incorrect or insufficient shall notify the court issuing the order before the 61st day after the date the agency or official receives the order. The court shall notify the person who made the application or who is the subject of the records named in the motion, or the attorney for that person, before the 61st day after the date the court receives the notice that the agency or official cannot seal the records because there is incorrect or insufficient information in the order.
(p) A person who is eligible to seal records may file an application for the sealing of records in a juvenile court of the county in which the proceedings occurred. The application and sealing order entered on the application must include the following information or an explanation for why one or more of the following is not included:
(1) the applicant's:
(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race or ethnicity;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver's license or identification card number; and
(F) social security number;
(2) the offense charged against the applicant or for which the applicant was referred to the juvenile justice system;
(3) the date on which and the county where the offense was alleged to have been committed; and
(4) if a petition was filed in the juvenile court, the cause number assigned to the petition and the court and county in which the petition was filed.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, Sec. 53, eff. Jan. 1, 1996. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 10.05(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 19.01(20), eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 283, Sec. 26, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 949, Sec. 16, eff. September 1, 2005.
Pardons (Executive Clemency)
You do not have to know the governor personally to receive a pardon from him or her. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Executive Clemency Section is hard at work every day considering applications for a full pardon, which are available for a variety of legal situations.
To receive a pardon, you do not have to show that you are actually innocent. The board considers so many different situations for pardon eligibility that your situation is most likely one that the board would consider. Do not assume you cannot get a pardon.
The Executive Clemency Section is beset each year by Petitions for Executive Clemency (Pardons) that have no merit. Every hardened criminal doing a long sentence in prison files a pardon petition annually. In fact, the Board gets so many meritless petitions that to handle all the requests the Board denies most petitions based on technical errors.
I can help you through the process. I will guide you through the petition process to help you avoid the technicalities that doom most petitions. And I can tell you from experience, the Board of Pardons and Paroles wants a good petition for pardon. They want one they can grant. They want your petition.
Texas Constitution Article IV, Section 11
Sec. 11. BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES; PAROLE LAWS; REPRIEVES, COMMUTATIONS, AND PARDONS; REMISSION OF FINES AND FORFEITURES.
(a) The Legislature shall by law establish a Board of Pardons and Paroles and shall require it to keep record of its actions and the reasons for its actions. The Legislature shall have authority to enact parole laws and laws that require or permit courts to inform juries about the effect of good conduct time and eligibility for parole or mandatory supervision on the period of incarceration served by a defendant convicted of a criminal offense.
(b) In all criminal cases, except treason and impeachment, the Governor shall have power, after conviction, on the written signed recommendation and advice of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, or a majority thereof, to grant reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons; and under such rules as the Legislature may prescribe, and upon the written recommendation and advice of a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, he shall have the power to remit fines and forfeitures. The Governor shall have the power to grant one reprieve in any capital case for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days; and he shall have power to revoke conditional pardons. With the advice and consent of the Legislature, he may grant reprieves, commutations of punishment and pardons in cases of treason.
(Amended Nov. 3, 1936, Nov. 8, 1983, and Nov. 7, 1989.)
