Rochester Minnesota Expungement Lawyer

Criminal Expungement Attorney Minnesota

Expungement of a record means the sealing, destroying or return of the record. The exact remedy in a given situation depends on the statutes or the court’s discretion.

May 2014 Update: Minnesota just passed the new expungement law that will take effect on January 1, 2015. The new law will streamline the expungement process, provide timelines in which the expungement can be brought and limit how executive agencies will access the court records. Contact Mr. Dilaveri today to find out how these new cases apply to your situations. The cost for the expungement process is under most circumstances $1,000.00 plus the appropriate filing fee, if any.

Expungement of one’s criminal record involves: on one side, the interests of individuals who have been charged or convicted with a crime and would like to pursue employment, foster care, housing or other major life activities without the burden of an arrest or a criminal conviction; and, on the other side, the interests of society as a whole to maintain criminal histories for purposes of future investigations and in order to make hiring, rental, and other decisions about individuals. If you have questions about Criminal Expungement in Minnesota, please contact our Rochester Minnesota Expungement attorney, to see how we can help.

Expungement Process

Prior to beginning an expungement action, it is important for the individual to obtain records of their full criminal history. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has criminal records for the whole state of Minnesota. Their “public records” list all convictions. Their “private records” list arrests, juvenile criminal history, and all court and conviction information more than 15 years beyond the date the sentence was completed. The BCA maintains and updates its records from reports they get from other parts of government such as counties and courts. To obtain your BCA record, you can contact them either in person or by mail at 1430 Maryland Avenue, CJIS Section, St. Paul, Minnesota 55106. As of April 2008, there is an $8.00 fee for the report. Sometimes not all of your criminal history, like petty misdemeanors, makes it to the BCA, thus it is important to check your records at your local county courthouse as well.

Expungement Scenarios

There are three main scenarios under which the criminal record can be expunged:

• The person is arrested and charged with a crime, but the charges are dismissed with no finding of probable cause made;
• A finding was made that probable cause to proceed to trial existed, but later the charges were either dismissed or the person was found to be innocent by the judge or the jury, or the action was resolved “in favor of the Petitioner”;
• The person either pleaded guilty or was found guilty.

As with any area of the law, each of the scenarios has special rules and exceptions that must be considered and a Rochester expungement attorney can help you navigate the statutes and case law.

Expungement for Dismissed Cases

Under this scenario, and absent a felony or gross misdemeanor conviction in the 10 years before the arrest, one is entitled to have all the records of the arrest returned to him upon request to the police department or BCA.

Expungement for Cases Decided “In Favor of the Petitioner”

Under the second scenario, the person seeking expungement would not qualify for return of records, but may be able to get court records sealed. The Minnesota statutes provide a procedure for requesting expungement of criminal records that must be used by an individual who was convicted of certain offenses or by an individual whose case proceeded further than a probable cause determination. Under the statute, expungement means that the records are sealed and that the agency maintaining the records may not disclose their existence or open them unless otherwise authorized by a court order or statutory authority.

In these cases where proceedings went further than a probable cause determination but stopped short of conviction, the individual may file a court petition for expungement (having the records sealed but not returned). These would include the following circumstances:

• the individual was convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor within the ten years before the arrest he or she wants expunged;
• a probable cause determination was made in the case;
• the prosecutor filed charges or a grand jury indictment was returned;
• the individual was acquitted after trial;
• the individual completed a diversion program but did not plead guilty and charges were dismissed after completion of diversion.

“In favor of the Petitioner” is a term of art and a Minnesota expungement lawyer (LINK) can properly advise you whether “stays of adjudication” or “diversion programs” fall within its meaning.
Under this scenario, for example, an individual may be entitled to have his record sealed if:

• The person was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, the court stayed adjudication of the person’s guilt under Minnesota Statutes Section 152.18, and then dismissed the charges after the person’s successful completion of probation; or 
• The person was certified to stand trial as an adult under the juvenile code, convicted of the crime, committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Corrections, and the person was finally discharged by the Commissioner or was placed on probation and successfully completed its conditions. 

Expungement Based on Court’s Inherent Authority

If none of the previous scenarios apply, an individual can ask for an expungement under the Court’s inherent judicial power. To do so, the Court must keep in mind what the Minnesota Statutes require, specifically that: “Expungement of a criminal record is an extraordinary remedy to be granted only upon clear and convincing evidence that it would yield a benefit to the petitioner commensurate with the disadvantages to the public and public safety of:

• sealing the record; and
• burdening the court and public authorities to issue, enforce, and monitor an expungement order.

Inherent authority expungements are not granted lightly and a Rochester expungement attorney(LINK) can help you to address the issues that the Courts look for in granting them. Those include a description of why the offense was committed in the first place, the changes you have made that ensure you will not do it again, whether one is active in the community (volunteering or some other activities), letters from people who know you and will say that you are not likely to commit another crime, the specific reason you need the expungement, that you are a good, responsible, upstanding person and so forth.

Contact Us Today For a Free Consultation

If you are looking for a Criminal Expungement attorney, contact us today. We always offer free initial consultations to our clients. Call 507.206.6020 or feel free to complete our free case evaluation form.