What is an Expungement?

Expungement is a legal action in which the plaintiff or petitioner seeks that the court destroys or seals prior criminal convictions from State or Federal official records. With a few exceptions, a person can pursue an Expungement only once in their lifetime in the state of North Carolina. Without an expungement, criminal charges remain on one's record even then when there is no conviction.

Are you eligible for an expunction?

Criminal charges eligible for expunction generally fall into five categories: all felony or misdemeanor charges for which there was no conviction (dismissed or a finding of not guilty); misdemeanor charges for which the date of offense occurred before the offender's 18th birthday (21st birthday for some alcohol offenses); nonviolent convictions for which the offender was released from supervision more than fifteen years ago; charges for which the offender has received a Governor's pardon, and charges which were a result of identity theft (i.e., someone other than the person under whose name the conviction is recorded actually committed the offense).

What happens after charges are expunged?

When considering an expungement you should be aware of the fact that criminal records obtained from private agencies may still show the charges after they are expunged. The reason is that those private agencies may collect records between the time the criminal charge is issued and the time it is expunged. Therefore, it is a good idea to proceed with an expungement as soon as possible to decrease the chance that private companies collect their information which they may keep forever.

Statutes regarding Expungements

The statutes provide for some private entities to remove expunged records from their data bases after an order of expunction is entered. Section 15A-150 states: a state agency [receiving notice of an expungement] shall notify any private entity with which it has a licensing agreement for bulk extracts of data from [a state] agency criminal record database to delete the record in question. Section 15A-152 states that: a private entity that holds itself out as being in the business of compiling and disseminating criminal history record information for compensation shall destroy and shall not disseminate any information in the possession of the entity with respect to which the entity has received a notice to delete the record in question. It also provides for civil liability for failure to do so with a certain time period. Section 15A-153 provides that: An employer or educational institution shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information concerning any arrest, criminal charge, or criminal conviction of the applicant that has been expunged and shall not knowingly and willingly inquire about any arrest, charge, or conviction that they know to have been expunged. An applicant need not, in answer to any question concerning any arrest or criminal charge that has not resulted in a conviction, include a reference to or information concerning arrests, charges, or convictions that have been expunged. The statutes provide for some private entities to remove expunged records from their data bases after an order of expunction is entered. Section 15A-150 states: a state agency [receiving notice of an expungement] shall notify any private entity with which it has a licensing agreement for bulk extracts of data from [a state] agency criminal record database to delete the record in question. Section 15A-152 states that: a private entity that holds itself out as being in the business of compiling and disseminating criminal history record information for compensation shall destroy and shall not disseminate any information in the possession of the entity with respect to which the entity has received a notice to delete the record in question. It also provides for civil liability for failure to do so with a certain time period. Section 15A-153 provides that: An employer or educational institution shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information concerning any arrest, criminal charge, or criminal conviction of the applicant that has been expunged and shall not knowingly and willingly inquire about any arrest, charge, or conviction that they know to have been expunged. An applicant need not, in answer to any question concerning any arrest or criminal charge that has not resulted in a conviction, include a reference to or information concerning arrests, charges, or convictions that have been expunged. Also, even though expungement statutes prohibit prosecution for perjury for failing to acknowledge the charges which were expunged, it would be untrue to deny the fact that one was charged, even though the statutes apparently intend to allow for one to deny the fact that the arrest, charges, and other criminal proceedings occurred. Even with the protections of the statutes, there are many ways in which information about the expunged criminal proceedings to be discovered, and people should consider the individual circumstances and the exact wording of any questions in applications when deciding exactly how to respond.