Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Re: Felony

Unless there is a court order directing otherwise, records of a prosecution resulting in a deferred adjudication are publicly available in the District Clerk's records and the Justice Information Management System (JIMS) database. You can make deferred adjudication records non-public by request.

In some circumstances you can file an expunction under Article 45.051(e) or Article 55.01(a)(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, depending in the facts. However, expunction is not available for deferred adjudication sentences for Class B, Class A, or felony offenses.

Through a Petition for Nondisclosure under Section 411.081(d), Government Code, a court can prohibit criminal justice agencies from disclosing to the public criminal history record information related to certain offenses for which the offender was placed on deferred adjudication. There are many offenses, however, for which this procedure is unavailable. Moreover, a defendant may be disqualified if he commits an offense after the deferred adjudication has been completed and before filing the petition.

Speak with an attorney to discuss the specifics of your case and see if the Petition for Nondisclosure will work for your case.