Legal Services Offered In

• State felony and misdemeanor expunctions

• State felony and misdemeanor non-disclosures

• Sealing of Juvenile Record

Expunction of
Criminal Record

Texas law permits accused persons to clear from their criminal history record criminal charges that qualify under the expunction statute. The process from the date of filing of a petition for expunction up until the criminal record has been cleared by the entities named in the petition may take up to about six months. With an expunction, the accused person’s criminal records pertaining to the criminal charge for which an expunction was ordered should be destroyed. An expunction is particularly important when a person is trying to get employment and the potential employer is requesting a criminal background check from the person.

Non-Disclosure of
Criminal Record

Texas law also permits accused persons to clear criminal charges that qualify under the non-disclosure of criminal history statute. This law applies to persons who received deferred adjudication probation in court and successfully completed the probation period. However, the statute does not allow for certain deferred adjudication criminal charges to be sealed. The process from the date of filing a petition for non-disclosure of the criminal history record until the record is sealed may take up to six months. With a non-disclosure order, the accused person’s record should be sealed and not be disclosed to the public, but only to certain criminal justice agencies and non criminal justice agencies which are named in the statute. But a non-disclosure of a criminal record will help a person who is trying to get employment with a general public employer.

Sealing of Juvenile Record

Texas law also permits accused juveniles to clear criminal charges that qualify under the juvenile sealing of records provision of the statute. The process from the date of filing a petition for sealing of juvenile records until the record is sealed may take up to six months. A major benefit from sealing a juvenile record again is employment since potential employers are now more proactive in requesting criminal background checks from applicants. With a sealing of juvenile records, the accused juvenile’s record should be sealed and not be disclosed to the public.