Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: expunge

It is not expensive. You can file the forms for the hearing to "set aside the conviction" (expunge) on your own ... but I recommend that you at least consult with an attorney who handles these hearings to make sure you have dotted the "i"s and crossed the "t"s because of you mess up on one of the procedures, you might lose.

Every week, we get questions about this topic. You can search the LawGuru Michigan criminal law database for "expunge" or "setting aside a conviction" to read up.

HELPFUL WEB SITE: You can also read up about the process at the Michigan Courts "self help" web site:

http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/selfhelp/intro/criminal/setaside_help.htm

This site has links to some of the court forms, and explains the procedures.)

Essentially, you have to wait 5 years after your court matter is concluded (off probation, out of jail, etc.) ... which you have done.

This must be your one and only criminal conviction ... which you say is the case.

The rest is procedural: you have to fill out the court form to set aside the conviction (go to your court clerk to get a copy). You file it with the court AND the county prosecuting attorney AND the Attorney General AND the Michigan State Police (along with sets of your finger and hand prints). The AG and MSP will double check whether this was your 1-and-only conviction.

Then there's a court hearing where the judge decides whether to use his/her discretionary power to set your conviction aside. An 18-year old retail fraud conviction is probably a good candiate for that!

Good luck!