What is expungement?

Under Maryland law, there are several ways to “clean up” parts of your criminal record. Expungement is a process that lets you ask the court to remove certain kinds of court and police records from public view. Expungement generally applies to records that did not result in a conviction, but several specific types of conviction can also be expunged.  There are minimum waiting times before filing for expungement depending on how the case ended.

Court Forms:

• This Petition for Expungement of Records should be used for the expungement of acquittal, dismissal, probation before judgment, nolle pros, stet, and certain not criminally responsible dispositions
• This Petition for Expungement of Records should be used for the expungement of eligible guilty dispositions
• General Waiver and Release

 

What is included in my criminal record?

A criminal record includes information from Maryland Judiciary Case Search, as well as your official RAP (“Record of Arrests and Prosecutions”) sheet from the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS).  For the expungement process, you may wish to look at both sources to determine your eligibility for expungement.  Generally, any arrest or citation will show up on your criminal record regardless of what happened later in court.  This means that your public criminal record may show good outcomes like being found innocent or bad outcomes like being found guilty.

Your record will show the arrest or citation even if:

• Your case was dismissed; or
• You were acquitted (found not guilty); or
• Probation Before Judgment was entered; or
• A Nolle Prosequi was entered in your case (This occurs when the prosecutor decides to drop the case either before or during trial.  Lawyers commonly refer to this as a “noll pros”); or
• The case was placed on the “stet docket,” an inactive group of cases which often are not reopened.
• If you were found guilty or paid a fine after being arrested, that will appear on your records as a conviction.
• You can get a copy of your criminal record from the Criminal Justice Information System.

 

Why is it important to expunge a criminal record?

Many organisations, businesses, and agencies require a background check for applicants. Having criminal charges on your record can hinder:

• employment,
• applications to schools and colleges,
• relationships,
• housing, and
• other government services. 

 

Which records can be expunged? Which cannot?

Usually, the verdict or outcome of your case determines whether specific records can be expunged.  It does not matter whether your case was a misdemeanor or a felony. 

For most offenses, if you have been convicted (found guilty), the records about that charge cannot be expunged.  There are exceptions 

Are there situations where you CANNOT file for expungement?

Yes, there are certain cases where you generally cannot get records expunged.

• If you received a PBJ, and you were later convicted of a new crime within 3 years of the PBJ, you cannot get the PBJ case expunged. (However, if the new conviction was for a minor traffic violation or for an action that is now no longer a crime, the new conviction will not prevent you from getting the PBJ expunged.)
• You cannot file for expungement of any records if you currently have criminal proceedings pending against you.
• If you are convicted of a crime during the waiting period, you are not eligible for expungement unless the subsequent conviction becomes eligible for expungement.
• You cannot get a PBJ expunged if the PBJ was for certain alcohol related driving offenses. 
• A court has no authority to expunge aliases or grant an expungement in cases of identity theft. 

 

The Unit Rule

If you were charged with more than one offense based on the same incident, transaction, or set of facts, you can only have records from that case expunged if ALL of the charges from that incident are eligible for expungement. 

For example, a person might be charged with three separate offenses based on the same incident.  The person might be convicted of one of the three charges, and have the other two charges dropped.  If the conviction is not expungeable, the person will not be able to expunge the records from the two charges that were dropped either. 

The only exception to the Unit Rule is for minor traffic violations.  No matter what happens with the minor traffic violation, even if you are convicted of it, it will not affect your ability to get the other related records expunged. 

 

 

What do I have to do to get an expungement?

Generally, you fill out a Petition for Expungement of Records and file it with the court that heard your case. If it has been less than three years from the time your case was concluded, you will also need to file a General Waiver and Release. A filing fee of $30 may apply. This filing fee is not refundable. 

How long do I have to wait to file a petition for expungement?

Generally, you must wait 3 years after your case was decided before you can file for expungement, but the rules vary based on the results of your case:

• If you were acquitted, received a nolle prosequi, or a dismissal of the charges, you may file earlier if you also file a general release and waiver of any and all people against whom you may have a legal claim as a result of your arrest.  If you received a probation before judgment, you may not file for expungement until your probationary period is over or until 3 years have passed, whichever is longer.
• If your case was placed on the stet docket, you may not file earlier than 3 years after the judgment.
• If you were pardoned by the governor, you must wait at least 5 years but not more than 10 years after your pardon.
• To file for an expungement based on a finding of Not Criminally Responsible, you must wait until 3 years have passed since the finding.
• If you were found guilty of one of the expungeable crimes, you must wait 3 years.
• Certain convictions can be expunged. Depending on the conviction, you request an expungement 10 or 15 years after the guilty conviction or the satisfactory completion of the sentence, including probation, whichever is later.   

If you were found guilty of a crime that is no longer a crime, you may request an expungement immediately.  Prior convictions for possession of marijuana can be expunged immediately, but the amount you were convicted of possessing must be less than 10 grams.  If your conviction was for more than 10 grams of marijuana, you may request an expungement 4 years after satisfactory completion of the sentence.

You must wait to expunge a case until every charge in that case is expungeable. For instance if you received 3 nolle prosequi’s and one Stet, you must wait 3 years because the stet requires a minimum waiting time of 3 years.

In all above cases, however, a court may grant a petition for expungement at any time if the court feels you have shown good cause. If you file for expungement before the waiting period has elapsed, the State’s Attorney may file an objection.  You will then have the opportunity to show why you have good cause at a hearing.

 

What happens after I file the petition?

After you have filed for expungement and the court has given a copy of the filing to the State’s Attorney, the State’s Attorney has 30 days to file an objection to your petition.   If the State’s Attorney does not do so, the court may order the expungement of police and court records relating to your charge. 

If the State’s Attorney does object, the court will conduct a hearing on your petition at which the court will decide whether or not you are entitled to an expungement.

The expungement process takes approximately 3 months. Once the Judge signs the expungement order you will receive a copy of the order in the mail as well as a Certificate of Compliance from each agency required to expunge their part of your record.

If the State’s Attorney objects to the expungement you will receive a summons in the mail to appear before a Judge and explain why the expungement should be granted.

TIP:  It is important that you personally keep copies of all of the documents and papers relating to the expungement process, including a copy of your case file.  There may be times in the future when you need to be able to explain what happened with your expungement, and it can be very difficult to prove what happened once court and police records have been expunged.

 

Can an expungement be denied?

Yes, the court can deny your request for an expungement. If the Judge denies the petition at the hearing, you may file an appeal within 30 days of the denial.

 

Credited to: People law