Criminal Record Expungement in Iowa

 

Getting arrested for an Iowa crime can lead to much more than simply the punishments you will be facing for your specific crime. Even after all is said and done with the court case and any sentence you might have to serve, a record of your crime will appear on your criminal record. This record follows you around for the rest of your life, and having an arrest on it can make it a lot more difficult to do previously simple things like apply for jobs, find housing, get a credit card, and even obtain licenses for some professional organizations.

 

Why? Background checks. Every time anyone does a background check on you, the record of your crime is going to appear, and may cause people to refuse you service or to move on to the next applicant. It can make it truly difficult for a person who is just trying to put their life back together and move on.

 

That’s why the United States government decided to allow a little-known legal process called expungement. Expungement is a procedure available to some people who are arrested for some crimes in which records related to the crime for which they were charged can be eliminated so that the public at large cannot access the files, nor can law enforcement for general purposes. Each state has different laws governing how they handle expungement, and some states have made it altogether illegal, but luckily Iowa is not one of those states.

 

How does expungement in Iowa work?

 

Often when describing expungement, people talk about “destroying” files, but saying that isn’t literally true. In reality, expunged files are sealed away by the court so that they aren’t available for just anyone to access. To see the files, there must be special circumstances involved. Iowa also keeps fingerprint cards of anyone that has been arrested in the automated system so that a criminal history can be established, regardless of whether your other records have been expunged.

 

The only case in which this is not true is for juvenile expungement cases. Where a case involving a minor is concerned, all criminal history including fingerprints are fully eliminated from general search purposes and cannot be accessed without a court order.

 

What kind of records and documentation does Iowa allow to be expunged?

 

There are many different types of documentation involved in arresting and charging a person for a crime, and most are removed from general access if expungement is granted, including:

 

• Arrest data
• Disposition data
• Custody data
• Adjudication data
• For juveniles who reach 21 years of age and have not plead guilty or received a conviction for a serious or aggravated misdemeanor or felony between the ages of 18 and 21, the custody and adjudication date can also be expunged
• Public intoxication records (but only under specific circumstances and if certain conditions have been met)

 

 

What crimes are eligible for expungement in Iowa?

 

Naturally, the state of Iowa doesn’t just allow any and every crime to be expunged. Eligible crimes include those where the person charged was acquitted, as well as cases where the charges were simply dismissed. If a case is dismissed by reason of insanity, it does not fall under the eligible cases for expungement. However, records of adjudications of mental incompetence that prevented the individual from standing trial, or where there was mental or physical injury – or an attempt to injure in these manners – are not included under this law.

Almost all juvenile records are also eligible for expungement unless the individual committed aggravated felonies or misdemeanors from the age of 18 to 21. Likewise eligible are cases where judgment was deferred under section 907.3 and the individual was discharged from probation.

And finally, if an individual has been arrested for being intoxicated in public, he or she can receive expungement if they have had no further criminal convictions for two years (simple misdemeanor violations as outlined by law will not count against the individual’s two-year period without convictions). In fact, public intoxification is one of the few Iowa crimes for which expungement is automatically granted as a matter of law laid down in Iowa Statutes 123.46. No petition is necessary so long as the individual meets specific criteria.

What crimes are ineligible for expungement in Iowa?

 

There is no legal way to expunge a previous conviction from your record in Iowa, barring the Governor giving you a pardon for your crime. There is, however, a process called deferment that can help to keep cases of operating a vehicle while intoxicated from ever going on your criminal record.

 

A deferred judgment can only be given by a judge, and when it is granted, the individual is placed on probation while they are being discharged. Deferment can only be granted twice in a person’s lifetime, so it should not be taken lightly.

Iowa has no legal mechanism for expunging a previous conviction unless there is an application for a pardon and it is received by the Governor of Iowa. In the case of operating while intoxicated, an incident can be kept from criminal record by a deferred judgment granted by a judge. In the case of a deferred judgment, an individual will then be placed on probation while he or she is then discharged. Driving privileges are also not guaranteed to be reinstated just because a conviction is deferred, and deferred judgments can be used as priors if you are charge with a new crime, which will mean that you might face harsher penalties than if this was truly your first crime.