Kansas Criminal Record Expungement

 

Big or small, we all make mistakes in life. But if you get charged with a crime in Kansas, it is a mistake that can follow you around for the rest of your life – regardless of the outcome. How is this possible? Criminal records.

 

Once you are arrested, your criminal record will have this information put on it, and it is something that can negatively impact your ability to do a great number of things that most of us take for granted, including getting a job, finding housing, applying for credit, or obtaining certain licenses for professional organizations – basically, any time that you are required to go through a background check. Each time this happens, the person doing the check will see the crime on your record. For some things, this disqualifies you outright, but even for those situations where you still have a chance, there’s a fairly high likelihood that if a person or organization has a choice between you or someone without a criminal record, you’re going to be left out.

 

Thankfully, there is a way around this for people who get charged with certain crimes in specific circumstances: expungement. The process of expungement involves removing information from your criminal record that relates to certain crimes so that general law enforcement and the public at large no longer have access to see them.

 

The state of Kansas does this in order to assist people who have been previously charged with a crime but since then have reformed and are attempting to rebuild their lives. If your record is approved for expungement, those offering you employment, certification, registration, licenses, or credit won’t be able to use that information against you when making their determination. The only exceptions to this are if you attempt to gain employment in the following areas:

 

• Security firms
• State social services agencies
• Gambling-related entities
• Admission to the state Bar
• Commercial driving license applications
• Any other areas designated by the court

 

 

Although generally in expungement cases all information related to the case in question is destroyed, Kansas law states that certain juvenile records can be kept by the appropriate agencies as long as those records don’t have any information that could identify the individual.

 

Also, anyone having information expunged from their records should note that such information doesn’t simply disappear, and if an individual is later charged with another crime, the expunged record can be used as a prior offense according to Kansas Law 12-4516.

 

Records eligible for expungement in Kansas

 

 

Kansas is actually one of the states that’s friendliest to expunging criminal records. With the exception of certain serious offenses that render them ineligible for expungement, most crimes involving minors as offenders qualify to have the records and files erased. Municipal ordinance violations may also be expunged, even if the person was convicted, and it’s also possible to petition for the arrest records of people who were not tried to be removed as well. Even regular convictions are eligible, provided they are for lesser crimes and the individual completes diversion programs or probation.

 

Who is eligible for expungement in Kansas?

 

While a wide array of crimes are eligible for expungement under Kansas law, the state does set guidelines about who is able to petition for record erasure. On top of this, once the court receives an eligible petition, it is still within their right to deny that petition if they do not believe expungement to be in the court’s favor.

 

Some individuals and individual cases considered eligible in Kansas include:

 

• Juvenile offenders who have turned 23
• Juvenile offenders who have had at least two years pass since they were given a final discharge that led to receiving no felony or misdemeanor conviction (certain serious and/or violent offenses may exclude a juvenile from being granted this privilege)
• Individuals arrested for violating a city ordinance who finished their sentence at least three years ago, or who received a suspended sentence, or discharge from probation or parole
• Individuals who haven’t been brought up on felony charges in the last two years, who are not currently being charged, who met the terms of a diversion agreement set down by a city violation ordinance, and for whom at least three years have passed since they fulfilled their sentence and any related requirements
• Individuals who were charged and arrested, but subsequently released because no probable cause was found, or they were found not guilty in court
• Individuals for whom the court believes expungement best serves the interest of justice in their specific circumstances

 

 

In both of the latter instances, charges against the offender must have been dismissed, and no new charges can have been filed against them, as well as there being the strong belief that no new charges ever will be filed against them.