Can I Get My Juvenile Record Expunged?

After a person is arrested for or convicted of a criminal offense in Texas, they will have a criminal record that they may be required to disclose in various circumstances, and that may be searchable to the public. Accordingly, anyone who has a criminal record — whether it is merely an arrest record that never resulted in a prosecution, or a record of conviction — there is often an urgent desire to have that record sealed. There are two ways of preventing the public (as well as employers, and other individuals) from accessing criminal records: record sealing and record expungement. With record sealing, the criminal record is hidden from the public and is no longer accessible, but it still exists in case a court needs to view it. With expunction, a criminal record is completely destroyed.

Given that juvenile offenses are often committed by individuals who lack maturity and do not have the full reasoning capabilities we gain in adulthood, there is often an interest in preventing juvenile records from affecting a person’s life well into adulthood. Can these records be expunged or sealed? In most cases, expunction is not going to be a possibility for a conviction, but record sealing may be possible. And for juvenile records that are not convictions, you may be able to have the record expunged. A Texas juvenile defense lawyer can explain.

Expunging Juvenile Records 

Chapter 58 of the Texas Family Code governs the sealing and expunction of juvenile records. In general, juvenile records can be expunged — meaning “permanently destroyed” — by a juvenile court under two circumstances in which there is no conviction on the criminal record:

• Case is not referred to the juvenile court within 10 days, allowing for “fingerprints, photos, and related custody event documents” to be destroyed; and
• Intake or prosecutor finds that “no probable cause exists that the child engaged in the conduct,” allowing for the destruction of existing criminal records.

Sealing Juvenile Records 

If a juvenile is convicted of a criminal offense, they should find out about record sealing. In some cases, there is no need for an application to have a juvenile record sealed because it will be sealed automatically. Indeed, there is a “scheduled court-ordered sealing of juvenile records” when the juvenile is under a particular age and meets other eligibility criteria (including original offense of delinquent conduct, no pending delinquent conduct charges, no adult charges pending, and no adult convictions).

Upon application, most types of juvenile convictions — with some exceptions — can be sealed two years after the final discharge if there are no pending charges and no adult felony convictions.

 Contact a Texas Juvenile Defense Attorney Today

If you were arrested for a criminal offense as a juvenile, you may be eligible for record sealing or expunction depending on the specific facts of your case, including whether you were prosecuted and whether you were convicted or pleaded guilty to the offense. Depending on the details of your case, your juvenile record may actually be eligible for automatic sealing. To learn more about having juvenile criminal records sealed and expunged in Texas, you should get in touch with one of the experienced Texas expunctions lawyers at John Reed, Attorney at Law. We can speak with you today about your record and can provide you with more information about record sealing and expunction under Texas law. Contact us for assistance.

Sources:

statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR.55.htm

statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.58.htm