Legal Question in Criminal Law in Nebraska

Re: How can I expunge an old misdemeanor?

Thank you for the e-mail.

An expungement is only available under rare circumstannces where there was a determination in your favor. That means that the matter was stayed without a conviction, you were acquitted or the charges were dismissed.

The only other way to seek an expungement after a conviction is to first seek a pardon. To qualify you must demonstrate that a significant amount of time has passed, you have not been convicted of subsequent crimes, you have been a benefit to your community (good job or education) and the pardon is necessary for a particular purpose.

Re: How can I expunge an old misdemeanor?

Expungement: There are essentially two ways to seek an "expungement" of criminal record(s). The most common is via Minnesota's expungement statute, Chapter 609A. To get an expungement via the statute, the criminal charge must have been determined in your favor, with few exceptions. (An example of an exception under the statute is certain first time drug charges.) Since you pled guilty, the criminal charge was not determined "in your favor." Therefore it is unlikely you could get an expungement pursuant to that statute. There still may be a way to do it though, for example if you were successful in making a motion to vacate the judgment and withdraw your guilty plea, first.

The other basis for seeking a criminal record "expungement" is upon the judicial branch of government's "inherent authority" to regulate itself, which existed before the expungement statute and remains a basis for seeking an expungement. These are less common and more likely to be litigated by the local prosecutor and-or the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. The burden would be on you (and your lawyer) to prove that the benefit to you outweighs the burden to the state were the court to order an "expungement."

Criminal background checks: My guess is that the older criminal background checks you mention were through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the easiest and cheapest record check (BCA/FBI/NCIC). Last I heard, they record all felony charges in Minnesota, even if resolved as a lesser conviction, and selected misdemeanors like domestic assault. So, your misdemeanor might not be on "your BCA/FBI/NCIC record." (You can check it for free.) But, the trend in recent years is for more and more thorough (expensive) background checks. With a courthouse check of every county you lived in, such a background investigation would be likely to turn up an old misdemeanor conviction, as in your case.

Conclusion: Recent legislative changes and court decisions have made expungements less valuable for those who receive them. But, they still can provide a substantial benefit to people who made a mistake, but have put their life back on track; or who were falsely accused in the first place. We are in danger as a society of creating a permanent underclass of people who can't get good jobs or apartments due to an old, stale criminal conviction or charge. If eligible, a person can seek an expungement "pro se" (without a lawyer), but a lawyer can usually help obtain one of a much higher quality and effectiveness. This can result many thousands of dollars per year in higher annual income, over a lifetime.