Expunction and Non-Disclosure Options in Texas

Expunction and non-disclosure are two options that may be available to you depending on what happened after your arrest. Whether or not you were convicted, and the strength of your case.

These options give you the right to deny the arrest ever happened and suppress access by anyone to the documents detailing your arrest. Expunction and non-disclosure options in Texas can help you get a fresh start. If you want to know more, speak with a capable expunction lawyer today.

Expunction

If a person was arrested but never charged, or charged but never convicted, they may be eligible for expunction. This means that all records pertaining to their Odessa arrest, the case against them. And the investigation must be wholly destroyed and they do not have to disclose to anyone that it ever happened. Not law enforcement officials, not judges, not their boss, and not their friends and family.

And because the slate has been wiped clean. They are not even obligated to divulge what happened if they find themselves under oath. At the same time, anyone with knowledge of their arrest will be bound to deny it ever occurred as well. And prohibited from disseminating information regarding their arrest.

What is truly valuable about expunction is that it can be legally enforced. Anyone who leaks information about an expunged arrest is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and can be prosecuted.

Non-Disclosure

Unlike expunction, non-disclosure does not destroy all traces of their arrest, investigation, and conviction, but it does seal all documentation pertaining to it. That means there will be no traces of it on an individual’s background check and they can deny it ever happened.

Non-disclosure may be an option for a person if they have been convicted of a minor, nonviolent misdemeanor in Amarillo. If they completed community supervision or were discharged early from community supervision, they may qualify for this proceeding as well.

If the individual was convicted or placed on deferred adjudication, they cannot have records of their arrest and case destroyed (expunged), but they can have them sealed off.

While there will still be some circumstances under which law enforcement officials as well as certain agencies authorized under the statute could access this information, it cannot be used against them and the person will be largely protected from any repercussions arising from it. Landlords, lenders, academic institutions, and employers will not find any trace of the person’s arrest or prosecution.

Deciding Which Option is Best

A person’s expunction and non-disclosure options in Texas depend on the specific circumstances of their arrest, their case, and their life.

If deferred adjudication is someone’s best option. They must observe a designated waiting period from the date the deferred adjudication ended. It is up to them to meet all of the conditions of their sentence or deferred adjudication for when it comes time for the judge to review their case.

Say, for example, they were convicted of a crime in Midland and sentenced to community supervision. This is the hand the person has been dealt, so they must do what they are required to do.

However, an individual still has options to get their life back on track and put this all behind them with relative haste. Early discharge from community supervision and then petitioning for non-disclosure is a great option in this situation. Early discharge means that an individual can get off of probation as soon as possible.

Contacting an Expunction Lawyer

If you absolutely cannot have an arrest visible on your record. An experienced expunction attorney can take a more aggressive approach to get charges against you dropped so you will remain eligible for expunction.

However, if you have a strong enough case to avoid conviction and you want your record expunged. You need to be careful when settling out of court. Because some plea deals include an agreement to waive your right to expunction.

Expunction and non-disclosure options in Texas exist because people deserve to put their mistakes behind them and move forward. People deserve genuine second chances. You deserve a genuine second chance, and a skilled Lubbock expunction attorney can do everything in our power to see you get it.