Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Probably. In Minnesota, you can petition to expunge any case from your record, as long as you don't have to register as a predatory offender.

In your case, if the matter was decided in your favor (like the charges were dismissed) you can ask for a statutory expungement. Some drug charges and juvenile charges also qualify for statutory expungement. Requesting a statutory expungement doesn't cost anything, but involves a lot of paperwork.

If the matter wasn't decided in your favor (like you were found guilty) you can ask the court to use it's "inherent authority" to seal your record. This costs $322.00, but the court can waive the fee if you don't have a lot of money and qualify for "In Forma Pauperis" or "IFP" treatment. If the case wasn't decided in your favor, you need to provide lots of evidence that your criminal record hurts your chances for a job or housing, and that you're not going to get into trouble again.

The forms you'll need to fill out are on the Minnesota court website: http://www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp/?page=276

The paperwork can be complicated, as can figuring out your criminal record. I think most people should work with an attorney to draft the petitions. There are lots of lawyers who can help out with this stuff. You should think about hiring a lawyer, or try to find a volunteer lawyer (like through the volunteer lawyers network or the council on crime and justice). Good luck!

The previous answer is a bit misleading. A statutory expungement is unlikely and that is the expungement you would be seeking.

The question that has to be asked is why you are seeking the expungement and where your record is coming up.

Expungements are only allowed by statute where there has been a determination in your favor. That means, ultimately, the charges must have been dismissed. If that occurred, you may erase any and all court or administrative records.

There are also Judicial expungements. Such an expungement is entirely up to the Judge as to whether it should be granted. This is an important distinction since a Court cannot expunge anything but judicial records with a judicial expungement unless there is an overriding basis that requires the expungement in the interests of justice. The courts have ruled that seeking better employment or promotions would not be a basis to expunge administrative records.

Administrative agencies generally are the places where background checks are performed. Criminal records are also maintained by Administrative Agencies such as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This is an executive agency. As a result, the criminal records, if held by the BCA, would never be expunged in a Judicial expungment.

Since you were convicted, a statutory expungement is not possible.