Effective July 1, 2012, the Tennessee State Legislature has approved a
new law allowing for the expungement of certain criminal convictions,
including some felonies. This means that you may be able to have your
criminal conviction removed from the public records of the county in which
you were convicted. Basic criteria are as follows: • the conviction
has to be one approved by the statute; • the petitioner has no other
convictions other than the one being expunged • at least five (5)
years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for the
offense; • all fines, restitution, court costs and other assessments
have been paid; all terms of imprisonment, probation and parole have been
completed; • all conditions of supervised or unsupervise4d release
have been met; • petitioner has remained free from dependency on
or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance or other prohibited substance
for a period of not less than one year if required by the terms of the
sentence; • payment of court fees in the amount of $450. The list
of included crimes is long as is the exclusion list. Unfortunately, driving
under the influence (DUI) is on the exclusion list and cannot be expunged.
Several drug offenses are eligible for expungement. The expungement process
is extremely detail oriented and tedious. As expected, the powers that
be have not made this an easy process. However, I have taken the time
to stay up to speed on this bill and have already prepared the necessary
documents. If you have a criminal conviction that you would like to have
expunged, do not hesitate to contact me to see if you qualify if you have
a criminal conviction that you want expunged.
