Recent Blog Posts

Expunction of Criminal Record

Lorenzana Law Firm — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:18:00 GMT

Most mistake the right to expunction as either a common law or a constitutional right; however, netheir one is correct. The legal right to expunction of a criminal record exists as a statutory privilege granted by statute.

For persons with a prior criminal record, filing for an expunction is the only legal procedure in keeping a past criminal record from showing up on credit reports or crimnal background checks.

This is accomplished by filing a civil expunction lawsuit in state district court.

Under article 55.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a person who has
been placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for commission of a felony or misdemeanor offense is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged if the person meets certain statutory requirements. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 55.01(a) (Vernon 2006).

The person filing for the expunction bears the burden of proof that he or she has met all the statutory requirements for expunction of a criminal record. All of the statutory provisions are mandatory and exclusive, and a person is entitled to expunction only when all statutory conditions have been met. See In re Wilson, 932 S.W.2d 263, 266 (Tex. App.-El Paso 1996, no writ).

Contact a Texas expunction attorney today to help you remove past or prior criminal records.

Expunctions in Texas

Lorenzana Law Firm — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:58:00 GMT

In Texas , the right to expunction is a statutory privilege. The statututory right gives people the opportunity to have all records of an arrest expunged provided certain requirements are met. under Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 55.01.

This is a exclusive right in that all provisions in a statutory cause of action are mandatory and all conditions must be met before a person is entitled to expunction. Generally, a statutory expunction proceeding is civil case filed in state district court. The filing petitioner bears the burden of proving compliance with the statute.

Article 55.01 provides, in pertinent part:

(a) A person who has been placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for commission of either a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged if:

     (2) each of the following conditions exist:
            (A) an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a
            felony has not been presented against the person for an offense arising out of the
            transaction for which the person was arrested or, if an indictment or information
            charging the person with commission of a felony was presented, the indictment or
            information has been dismissed or quashed, and:
                (i) the limitations period expired before the date on which a petition for
                expunction was filed under Article 55.02; or
                (ii) the court finds that the indictment or information was dismissed or
                quashed because the presentment had been made because of mistake, false
                information, or other similar reason indicating absence of probable
                cause at the time of the dismissal to believe the person committed the offense
                or because it was void;
            (B) the person has been released and the charge, if any, has not resulted in a final
            conviction and is no longer pending and there was no court ordered community
            supervision under Article 42.12 for any offense other than a Class C
            misdemeanor; and
            (C) the person has not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the
            date of the arrest.Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 55.01(a)(2).

Contact a Texas expunction attorney today to have your criminal record deleted.

Welcome to our Austin and San Antonio Criminal Defense Blog

Austin and San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:22:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Austin and San Antonio Criminal Defense Blog.