Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Vacate or Expunge

My son recently had a conviction vacated to be dismissed in 1 yr if he does not repeat the same type of offense. Is this better, worse or the same as an expungement? It is important to him to have a clean criminal record for job hunting. Also, they expunged the driving revocation from his record however left a DAR on his record, (he was driving after revocation)shouldn't that have been removed as well? how could he get the DAR if the first was expunged.


Asked on 12/14/06, 9:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Re: Vacate or Expunge

It's worse, because any guilty plea makes him ineligible for later expungement under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A (other than juvenile cases certified as adult, and certain first time drug offenders - see statute). A charge dismissed without conviction good in that it is not a conviction, but if there was a guilty plea, no expungement under 609A in most cases, so it will be public record information.

The second question is unclear. By "driving revocation" did you intend to say "drivers license revocation?" If so, that would be something Minnesota Department of Public Safety ("DPS") does, not the courts - normally. If he pled guilty to DAR, and later got DPS to rescind the drivers license revocation the DAR conviction was based upon, the DAR conviction presumably would remain unless he did something to attempt to re-open it, and then defeat that criminal charge.

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Answered on 12/14/06, 4:42 pm


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