Q: Can a felony evading arrest be expunged?
My cousin was arrested on an evading arrest charge in 2003. One lawyer told him it could be expunged and one lawyer told him it couldn't. What is the rule on expunging felonies if at all possible?
He was charged felony and sentenced based on a misdemeanor and was giving a fine of $3,000, no jail time except the day he was arrested until he bonded out the next day and no probation.
A: Expungement depends on the final disposition of the case, not the degree of offense. If the case was dismissed, you may be able to an expungement or disposition. The only way to remove a final conviction from a person's criminal record, however, is through pardon from the Governor.
Kiele Linroth Pace agrees with this answer
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A: If the case was dismissed or never indicted and the statute of limitations has run, he can get an expunction. If he was put on Deferred Adjudication probation, depending on the offense, he may be able to get an Order for Non-Disclosure sealing the record, but could not get an expunction. If he was put on straight probation, he will not be eligible for either one.
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A:
Expunction is only possible when all charges related to the arrest were dismissed. There was a case on appeal where the defendant was arrested for DWI but that charge was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea to Reckless Driving. The ruling was that the DWI could not be expunged because a conviction for reckless was the result of the arrest.
A few years back, the state legislature passed a bill to change this and allow the dismissed charges to be expunged but Governor Abbott refused to sign it so we are still stuck with all charges unless EVERYTHING is dismissed, pardoned, or overturned on appeal.
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