Legal Question in Criminal Law in Tennessee

A final conviction (that is, a judgment was entered after you either pled guilty or were convited at a trial) cannot be expunged unless you are "exonerated," that is, unless you were in fact later found to be truly not guilty of the offense.

Expungement is available only for cases that were disposed of by completion of a diversion program (pretrial diversion or post-trial diversion), or were dismissed, or a few other limited cases in which the matter was resolved favorable to the defendant.

You can file two types of paperwork at this point to try and take away some of the "sting" of the felony conviction. The first is a request to the Governor for a Pardon (Clemency). You can read some of the requirements here:

http://tennessee.gov/bopp/Docs/ClemencyApplicationProcess=02-13-03.pdf

In general, you must have successfully completed your sentence PLUS FIVE additional years of good behavior, before you will even be eligible to apply. You can obtain the form here:

http://www.tn.gov/bopp/Docs/BO0044ApplicationForPardon=10-07.pdf

The second type of paperwork is a petition to the court that sentenced you for some or all of your civil rights to be restored. That is a formal court pleading, the rules have changed several times over the years, and you must follow the rules in effect at the time of the offense, so as a practical matter you need an attorney. The only exception I know of without detailed investigation is a request for restoration of voting rights. While it still requires you to go to the Circuit Court and file pleadings, the forms and instructions are standardized and are available here:

http://tennessee.gov/sos/election/forms/ss-3041.pdf