Expungements Can Clear Your Record

Expungement lawyer Justin Summary has successfully expunged criminal records for clients all over the State of Missouri as well as in Illinois. If you are seeking an expungement of your criminal or arrest record contact us today to get a free price quote and to get an analysis of whether you would qualify for an expungement. The typical turnaround time for expunging a record is approximately 90 days from the date of the filing of the petition for expungement.

There are a few different expungement statutes in Missouri that are commonly used to expunge a criminal record. The first is found in the Revised Statutes of Missouri (2021) section 610.122. Under this statute, expungement of your record may be sought if the court determines that the arrest was based on false information AND the following conditions exist:

1. There is no probable cause, at the time of the action for expungement, to believe the individual committed the offense;

1. No charges will be pursued as a result of the arrest;

3. The subject of the arrest did not receive a suspended imposition of sentence for the offense for which the arrest was made or for any offense related to the arrest; and

4. No civil action is pending relating to the arrest or the records sought to be expunged.

It should be noted that the first requirement for this particular statute (requiring no probable cause to believe the petitioner committed the crime) prevents expungements in cases where someone has pled guilty to the charge that they are seeking to expunge. An expungement under this statute is typically used when someone is arrested for a crime and the charge was either never filed or filed and then subsequently dismissed.

A second expungement statute is found in the Revised Statutes of Missouri (2021) section 610.140. This statute differs from the above statute in that it allows for expungements in cases where people have pled guilty to the offense. However, it should be noted that the following offenses are not eligible for expungement under this statute:

• (1) Any class A felony offense;
• (2) Any dangerous felony as that term is defined in section 556.061;
• (3) Any offense that requires registration as a sex offender;
• (4) Any felony offense where death is an element of the offense;
• (5) Any felony offense of assault; misdemeanor or a felony offense of domestic assault; or a felony offense of kidnapping;
• (6) Any of the following offenses (this list is not exhaustive): violation of an order of protection, kidnapping in the 2nd and 3rd degree, endangering the welfare of a child 1st degree, abuse or neglect of a child, robbery in the 2nd degree, arson in the 1st or 2nd degree, burglary in the 1st degree, forgery.

If your record is not otherwise barred by this expungement statute, you must wait at least three (3) years after you complete any jail sentence or term of probation for a felony offense and one (1) year for any misdemeanor or infraction.

During that three or one year period, you cannot have any other findings of guilt on any misdemeanor or felony charges nor can you currently have any pending charges against you. Under this statute, you can expunge two misdemeanor offenses and one felony offense (although if there were multiple counts charged arising from the same course of conduct there is an exception to this rule.)

It is also important to note that under this statute a person granted an expungement may still be required to disclose an expunged offense when the disclosure of such information is necessary to complete any application for a state license or certain types of employment.

A third expungement statute is found in the Revised Statutes of Missouri (2017) section 610.130. This expungement statute allows first-time misdemeanor DWI offenders or BWI (boating while intoxicated) offenders to expunge their DWI or BWI offense if they:

1. Have not had any other alcohol-related convictions or subsequent alcohol-related enforcement contacts (as defined in RSMo. 302.525) in 10 years.

1. Have no intoxication-related offenses pending and were not driving a commercial vehicle (and do not currently have a commercial driver’s license).

If you are considering filing an application for expungement, contact expungement attorney Justin Summary today at 314-673-1475 for an analysis of your case and to get a price quote for the expungement of an arrest record. You can also use this email form to contact him.