Expungement Lawyers

An expungement is the process by which the court orders the clerk and state law enforcement agencies to destroy their records of a particular arrest. The expungement erases the record of arrest for the expunged offense. An expungement is State specific and will not affect an arrest record in a federal database. Illinois law prescribes those charges and situations that may be subject to expungement, as well as the procedure for an expungement. A successful expungement also requires strict adherence to local court rules regarding the expungement procedure. Generally, a person may petition the court to immediately expunge either a felony or misdemeanor acquittal or dismissal. Local courts may condition the filing of the expungement petition on the expiration of the speedy trial period. Illinois law also allows for an expungement under certain limited circumstances where a person has received a sentence of court supervision. These exceptions are limited and are generally subject to having no prior or subsequent convictions for a specific statutory time period.

 

Under most circumstances, a person cannot petition a court to expunge a conviction. One notable exception that may qualify is where a person has received a specific type of probation for a violation of the Illinois Controlled Substance Act or Cannabis Control Act. Specific prerequisites, petitions, and fees are associated with any expungement.. If you wish to discuss this procedure, please contact one of our experienced defense lawyers at Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC.


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The expungement law in Illinois is set out in 20 ILCS 2630/5 and has very specific criteria regarding what can and cannot be expunged. For example:

Whenever an adult or minor prosecuted as an adult, not having previously been convicted of any criminal offense or municipal ordinance violation, charged with a violation of a municipal ordinance or a felony or misdemeanor is acquitted or released without being convicted, whether the acquittal or release occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, the Chief Judge of the circuit wherein the charge was brought, any judge of that circuit designated by the Chief Judge, or in counties of less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the presiding trial judge at the defendant's trial may upon verified petition of the defendant order the record of arrest expunged from the official records of the arresting authority and the Department and order that the records of the clerk of the circuit court be sealed until further order of the court upon good cause shown and the name of the defendant obliterated on the official index required to be kept by the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of Courts Act, but the order shall not affect any index issued by the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The Department may charge the petitioner a fee equivalent to the cost of processing any order to expunge or seal the records, and the fee shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund.


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