Expungement is the legal process by which a court removes or erases all records of a criminal conviction, even if it is a felony conviction. If you wish to remove a felony from your record and you are eligible to do so under the laws of the state in which you were convicted, you will have to obtain a court order. If you are successful in having your conviction expunged, your records related to this conviction will be erased and sealed from public view.
All states have different procedures for expunging felony matters. Generally, you must file a motion or petition for expungement with the court that heard the felony charges. All states have different eligibility requirements for the expungement of felony convictions. In almost all states, there are certain types or classes of felony convictions that cannot be expunged, and in a fair amount of states, felony convictions cannot be expunged at all.
Expunge is a term commonly used in legal and non-legal contexts with various meanings. In legal terminology, expunge refers to the process of removing or erasing records or information from official documents, databases, or public records. This deletion is typically done to ensure that the information is no longer accessible or visible to the public or relevant authorities. There are different types of expunge meaning, which can be categorized as follows: 1. Criminal Expungement: Criminal expungement involves removing criminal records from public view. This process varies by jurisdiction but generally applies to individuals who have been acquitted of charges, had charges dismissed, or completed a diversion or probation program successfully. By expunging their criminal records, individuals can legally deny the criminal history in most cases. For example, if John successfully expunges his DUI conviction, he can legally state on job applications that he has no criminal record. 2. Juvenile Expungement: Juvenile expungement focuses on deleting records related to offenses or incidents committed by individuals who were juveniles at the time of the offense. The purpose is to give young offenders a fresh start by ensuring their mistakes don't haunt them in adulthood. For instance, Jane, who was involved in a minor theft at age 15, can have her juvenile record expunged, giving her a clean slate for her future college applications. 3. Non-Conviction Expungement: Non-conviction expungement refers to removing records related to charges that didn't result in a conviction. This can include cases where the charges were dropped, dismissed, or the defendant was found not guilty. For instance, if Sarah was wrongly accused of theft and the charges against her were dismissed, she can request expungement to ensure that her arrest record no longer appears in background checks. 4. Civil Expungement: Civil expungement typically pertains to removing civil lawsuit records from public access. This type of expungement can apply to cases where the court finds the lawsuit baseless or frivolous, or where the parties reach a settlement to keep the information confidential. For example, if a company reaches a settlement agreement with an employee who sued them for wrongful termination, they may agree to expunge the court records to maintain confidentiality. 5. Online Reputation Expungement: With the growth of the internet, online reputation expungement has emerged as a specialized service. Individuals may hire companies to remove negative information, such as false accusations, defamatory content, or damaging images from search engine results or social media platforms. For instance, if Mark's reputation is tarnished due to false allegations displayed prominently online, he may opt for online reputation management services to expunge those harmful records. In summary, expunge meaning varies depending on the context but generally involves removing records or information from the public domain, thereby allowing individuals to distance themselves from past incidents or clean up their reputation.
