Expungement
Process
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The process I followed in my expungement. Remember this was done
in my state "Utah" and this process may not be available
in all states.
Step#1
I had to determine if expungement was possible for me. Utah requirements
are that a petioner can not have more than one felony and can not
have more than two class A & or B misdemeanors.
First you need to find out from your court system if expungement
is a possibility where your conviction is, then find out what the
stipulations are to the expungement. I found all my info on the
interenet also later I found the same info was available at the
court house.
In Utah to file an expungement petition I had to make application
with Bureau Of Criminal Identification (BCI), they determine if
I am eligible or not and for a fee of $10 can give you a copy of
your rap sheet. On my rap sheet there was one mistake, I had a felony
which was supposed to be a misdemeanor and I had in all four class
A & or B misdemeanors. I knew I was over the state limit on
my misdemeanors but found out that I could file a motion to enact
sentence (a motion to reduce conviction). So I proceeded to do so
with three of my incidents and ended up successfull on all three,
reducing each one of them to a class C misdemeanor. Also I went
to the court where the so called felony came from and got me a certified
copy of the final disposition and delivered all of these papers
to the BCI. They changed my rap sheet to no felony, one class A
misdemeanor and three class C misdemeanors. I then recieved eligibility
certificates for each case I was trying to expunge. Each certificate
cost me $25.
Step
#2
With
the eligibility certificates I filed an expungement petition with
each court. It cost me $50 filing fee for each one. At this point
there really is no stopping the process once you become eligible
it is basically a done deal you just follow through on the whole
process. After the petitions were filed it took a couple of weeks
before the courts called me and told me the Orders have been signed
by the judge. I then went to the court clerk in each court and I
purchased approximatey eight certified court orders to seal and
expunge records for each case (each cert. cost $2.50). I then had
to deliver copies to any administration that was involved in each
case, this included (arresting agency,police dept., sheriff dept.,
jails, two copies to BCI where one is for them and the other is
for the FBI, prosecuting attorneys,adult parole & probation)
and to anybody else that may have been involved. When they recieved
certified court order to expunge they are required to seal documentation
on me and send it to the BCI or destroy all documents and confirm
it with the BCI. In my case I learned that all agencies destroyed
the records except the BCI which they seal the record. The only
way it can be viewed is if I commit another crime and a Judge issues
a warrant to open my record. Even the FBI was required by the order
to seal my record. Therefore in the end I recieved a certificate
from the BCI certifying I have no crimminal record. And that I can
leagally state to anyone that I have never been arrested and that
I have never been charged with a crime. This whole process took
me approximitly two and a half months. There are lawyers who will
do this but it will take longer, they just care about your money
and have other clients they are dealing with. I did all my own leg
work, research and it cost me about a total of $300, if I used a
lawyer it would have cost me about $3000. I hope this helps anyone
out there who wants to do an expungement. Make sure you follow through
on everything required by you and do not get frustrated at all the
leg work. I know now it was worth every minute of my time. Good
luck, Aero
My E-Mail
Address ----> aerosquadron@networld.com
