Expungement

St. Louis DWI Expungement

Expungement of a criminal charge is the court-ordered removal of all official records of an individual’s arrest, plea, trial, and conviction. The effect of an expungement is to restore an individual’s legal statute to that he or she had before the arrest, plea, trial, or conviction, as if the event never took place.

In Missouri, there are three forms of expungement. One form of expungement is generally applicable to all criminal cases, except DWI and MIP convictions. Missouri law has unique expungement statutes specifically relating to DWI and MIP convictions.

Expungement of A Criminal Charge

In Missouri, it is very difficult to have a criminal charge expunged from your record. However, it can be done. An individual wishing to have a criminal charge expunged from his or her record must meet very specific criteria set forth by Missouri statutory law.

In Missouri, any record of arrest may be expunged if the court determines that the arrest was based on false information and the following conditions exist:

• There is no probable cause, at the time of the action to expunge, to believe the individual committed the offense;
• No charges will be pursued as a result of the arrest;
• The subject of the arrest has no prior or subsequent misdemeanor or felony convictions;
• The subject of the arrest did not receive a suspended imposition of sentence for the offense for which the arrest was made or for any offense related to the arrest; and
• No civil action is pending relating to the arrest or the records sought to be expunged.

Expungement of a DWI

Missouri has a unique expungement statute that applies specifically to DWI charges. An individual seeking to have a DWI charge expunged from his or her record must meet specific criteria set forth by Missouri law.

In short, for a DWI charge to qualify for expungement, the following criteria must be met:

• The DWI charge that an individual is seeking to expunge must be his or her first alcohol-related driving offense and must have been a misdemeanor charge rather than a felony charge;
• The DWI charge must be at least 10 years old;
• Since the date of the DWI charge, an individual cannot have any subsequent alcohol-related driving offenses;
• An individual cannot have any subsequent alcohol-related enforcement contacts, any other alcohol-related driving charges, or alcohol-related enforcement actions pending at the time of the expungement hearing.

Recently, Missouri legislators added new provisions to the DWI expungement statute in an attempt to make it more difficult for individuals to expunge an old DWI. The DWI expungement statute is complex. At Henderson Law Group, our St. Louis DWI lawyers understand and know how to get a DWI expunged. We can explain the law to you and how it applies to your specific situation.

Expungement of a MIP

The Missouri MIP law allows a minor who has pleaded guilty or found guilty of MIP for the first time to obtain an Court ordered expungement of all official records of his or her arrest, plea, trial and conviction. To obtain an expungement of a MIP, a person must meet all three of the following requirements:

• It must be the first time he or she pleaded guilty to or was found guilty of MIP
• One year has passed from the time he or she pleaded guilty or was found guilty of MIP or the minor has reached 21 years of age
• He or she has had no other alcohol-related convictions or “alcohol-related enforcement contacts” as defined in Section 302.525(3)

Call a St. Louis Expungement Lawyer Today

The St. Louis expungement lawyers of Henderson Law Group can explain the complex expungement process to you and how it applies to your specific situation. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.