Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota
I am filing for an expungement of a misdemeanor theft of some small items from a walmart store. On my petition it asks the names of the victims, or check a box if there is no identifiable victim. Should i check the box, since there is no victim i can name?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The victim in this case would be Wal-Mart. You should also identify the specific store if it is still around.
Walmart is the victim.
You should also know that 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 overiding 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 adminstrative records.
Administrative agencies generally are the plces 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.
If you were convicted, a statutory expungement is not possible.
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