Expungement of Tennessee Criminal Records

 

The ordeal of going through an arrest in Tennessee can be incredibly taxing and frightening. You will likely be handcuffed and put into the back of a police squad car, as well as photographed, fingerprinted, and held in a cell while the police do their job and your fate is decided. During this time, there are probably a great number of things you’ll be thinking about – your future, your family, whether you will have to pay fines or face jail time – but chances are the one thing you won’t be thinking about is the criminal record that you will now have for the rest of your life.

 

With everything else facing you, a criminal record may see like a small and insignificant thing, but it is not something that you should take lightly, and when choosing your Tennessee criminal attorney, their knowledge and experience in this area should be something you consider.

 

What’s so important about having a criminal record? First off, unlike other penalties, it doesn’t just go away if you are found innocent. Second, a criminal record stays with you for life. This is a bad thing because having a record of your criminal activities can make it a lot harder to do things you probably took for granted before your arrest, like find a job or a place to live, or even get a loan or credit card.

 

This is due to the fact that it is quite common for employers, banks, credit card companies, and landlords to run background checks before they decide to get into any kind of relationship with you. Unfortunately, the first thing that background check is going to show them is a description of your arrest and criminal charges. Since people with a criminal history are considered higher risk than other individuals, it is likely that they will pass you over for another person, or simply refuse to do business with you outright.

 

Thankfully, the state of Tennessee realized that this could be a huge problem for citizens that had just made a mistake and were attempting to get their lives back on track, so they decided to allow a legal process called expungement for certain people in specific circumstances. Expungement is a legal way of removing, sealing, erasing, or otherwise destroying any identifying documentation that relates to your arrest and charges so that no one in the public will be able to access it.

 

How does Tennessee’s expungement process work?

 

If you commit a crime as a juvenile in Tennessee, you’re in luck. Except those crimes which are barred, juvenile records are typically expunged or sealed after the individual reaches 17 or 18 years of age. Expungement seals these records so that the public cannot look at them, and helps the individual to head into their adult life with a clean slate.

 

If, however, an individual commits an offense after they turn 18, they are no longer eligible for juvenile expungement. Expungement for adults is not an automatic affair. Rather, those who meet the necessary conditions and wish to have their records expunged must file a written application to the court following the rules laid down by the state for expungement petitions.

 

Expungement in Tennessee does not mean the record has been physically destroyed

 

Although many people tend to say that an expunged file has been erased, obliterated, or destroyed, this is merely a figurative definition. In reality, the applicable records have simply been hidden from the view of the public. These hidden records can be accessed again at any time if the individual commits a later crime and used as prior offenses against the individual. This means that instead of facing penalties befitting a first-time offense, their sentence could be much harsher reflecting the fact that they are a repeat offender.

 

Other instances in which expunged or “hidden” records can be used include when a person decides to run for public office or apply for a professional license that would otherwise be affected by their criminal history.

 

Are certain crimes ineligible for expungement?

 

By Tennessee law, it is not possible to seal or expunge violent felonies. Beyond that, so long as the person’s background meets the requirements laid down in the statutes, it is possible for expungement to be granted.

 

However, it is possible for expungement to be denied. The state of Tennessee holds that the process of expungement is not a right for all citizens, but instead a privilege that they may grant to those they deem worthy. As such, there are many factors that go into deciding whether or not to grant an expungement, including:

 

• conviction of a sexual offense
• a pending arrest or arrests
• existing additional convictions
• court records indicating an open case
• registration as a sex offender
• existence of a previous expungement
• not waiting the correct amount of time period before applying

 

Before a petition may be submitted for an eligible crime, the offender is required to wait a prescribed length of time, as well as finishing any probation or confinement term that they were given, and paying any applicable fines.

 

Due to the complicated nature of expungement in Tennessee, it is in your best interest to retain a lawyer that has experience with the expungement process before you even begin the process of putting together your petition. If possible, try to get the attorney who originally defended you, as they will already be familiar with your case, but the most important thing is finding someone comfortable with Tennessee’s expungement laws. Even though the regulations and eligibility requirements may seem straightforward, there are always exceptions that can be made and ways to work within the law to fight for eligibility. A good Tennessee expungement lawyer will know exactly what to look for in your case.