Expungement
If a charge does not result in a conviction being entered against the Defendant, and the Defendant is not placed on probation (as is the case with a Deferred Adjudication), then the Defendant may be eligible to have the entire criminal record of the arrest and prosecution expunged, or removed.
Austin Criminal Record Sealing Lawyer | Jackson Gorski
The Law Office of Jackson F. Gorski is experienced in helping clients throughout Austin, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Kyle, Lakeway, Anderson Mill, Jollyville, Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Leander, TX. Call 512-960-4646 or fill out our free consultation form to secure your first consultation, free of charge to discuss your concerns with Texas criminal defense attorney Jackson F. Gorski.
Criminal Background Expunction
This procedure requires the filing of a civil petition in District Court requesting that the judge order all agencies with records pertaining to the arrest to remove, destroy, or obliterate all such entries.
The Petitioner must meet certain requirements, such as not having been convicted of a felony within five years of the date of the alleged offense, and not being convicted of any other charge arising out of the criminal incident.
The process takes up to six months to complete to ensure that each agency has properly expunged their records.
Deferred Adjudication & Sealing Criminal Records
In addition to expunctions, a Defendant who was placed on Deferred Adjudication probation may be eligible to have his arrest and court records sealed from the public. This relatively new law allows a judge to order public entities to withhold information about a Defendant under certain circumstances, but it does allow law enforcement agencies to retrieve records on such charges and offenses.
One nice provision of the new law is that you can prevent private websites from disseminating your information once you have your record sealed and notify them of the same.
Non-Expungable Offenses
Certain offenses such as murder, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assaults, assault with family violence, injury to a child, and stalking, are excluded from the sealing statute.
Additionally, there is a two-year waiting period from the last day of probation or incarceration for most misdemeanors and a similar five-year waiting period for felonies. Some misdemeanors have no waiting period, such as Possession of Marijuana, Theft, Driving with License Expired, and Criminal Trespass.
The appearance of a criminal record on your background during pre-employment screenings and college enrollment screenings pit your past against your future. If you have a criminal offense riding your background, there are solutions to remedy the problem. The courts understand that, although people make mistakes, they change.
If you have questions about sealing your criminal records or working to have a judge agree to expunge your criminal records, I can help you. Fill out the online consultation form or call my office at 512-960-4646. I’m Jackson F. Gorski, an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Austin.
Although your reading of this website doesn’t constitute the formation of an attorney-client relationship, I will tell you that you should avoid discussing your case with friends, family, social media applications, and prosecutors without the legal guidance of an experienced defense lawyer.
