Expungement in the State of Oklahoma

 

When you are arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime, details of the issue are placed on your criminal record. This information is then made available to local law enforcement and also to the general public. There are many cases where you may find that this information damages your future. For example, if you are applying for a lease on an apartment, you may be asked if you have a conviction of a crime on your record. This may be used as a reason not to rent the place to you. Banks also look at criminal records to determine whether giving a loan to someone is risky or not, and employers often get background checks to ensure that they are not hiring convicted felons. Also, having a felony conviction on your record can bar you from certain types of licenses, voting, and running for public office.

 

But there is a way to remove this information from your record. The United States allows for a process that is called expungement. The procedures vary from state to state, and not all crimes or criminals are eligible. In Oklahoma, the court has the power to expunge a criminal or arrest record.

 

How Does Expungement Work in Oklahoma?

 

If you have a record expunged, it is then removed from public viewing. It is not destroyed, but it is labeled as non-existent. This means that the record may not be used for public purposes except in specific circumstances, such as an application for the military, running for public office, impeachment, and false character proceedings.

 

What happens is that the record is removed from the clerk’s office of the court, so it is no longer available in the main filing system. Your name will be removed from the docket sheet and public sharing files, so you cannot access it through the internet or the courthouse’s computers. If any payments have been made in regards to the case, your name will simply appear as the person who made the payment, but there will be no details about the case.

 

But the records are still intact in the criminal history file. Arrest dispositions are kept in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Fortunately, the general public is not able to fully access this information. In order to get the information with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation expunged, you need to file a petition through Section 22 of Oklahoma laws 18 and 19.

 

Who Is Eligible for Expungement in the State of Oklahoma?

 

Not everyone is eligible for expungement. It is considered a privilege and not a right. This means that only certain records are even eligible, and you must meet specific requirements.

 

• If a sentence is deferred, pleas of no contest and guilty are eligible
• If you have been acquitted of the charges
• If your conviction is reversed
• If your conviction is dismissed
• If factual innocence is later proved through DNA
• If you receive a full pardon from Oklahoma’s governor
• If charges were dismissed after a year or on merits
• If no charges were filed and the statute of limitations has expired
• If a full pardon was granted for someone under 18 years of age when the crime occurred
• If you were convicted of one misdemeanor and have had no more offenses in two years
• If you were convicted of a non-violent felony, receive a full pardon, and 10 years have passed with no more offenses
• If you were arrested using a search warrant but were released
• If it was a juvenile offense and you are now over 21 years old

 

However, there are also cases that make you ineligible. Under Section 22, anyone convicted of a felony is not eligible, unless there is a court waiver of this prohibition. Also, anyone who pleads nolo contendere or guilty to a sexual offense is not eligible.

 

If you are seeking expungement, you should contact an Oklahoma lawyer who has experience working with these types of cases, or work with the attorney who initially handled your case.