How Long Do I Have to Wait for an Expungement in Minnesota? An Expungement Lawyer Explains
After being convicted of a crime, you may be wondering when you can get that old conviction off of your record. When you are able to do that will depend on a number of different factors.
Probation/Conditional Release Status
The threshold issue is whether you are on probation or conditional release. If you are either on probation, or on conditional release following a prison commit, you are not eligible for expungment. The clock on the waiting periods as outlined in the paragraph below does not start ticking until after you are discharged from probation or no longer on conditional release.
New Crimes
Were you convicted of a new crime after the crime that you want expunged? New crimes start the clock over for petitioning for expungement. If it’s a petty misdemeanor case, it does not start the case over. But misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and felonies start the waiting period over.
Were You Convicted of the Case You Want Expunged?
Asking about whether you were convicted may sound like a stupid question. However, there are ways that cases can resolve where there is no conviction, such as a stay of adjudication, but there is still a plea agreement where responsibility is accepted. And there are other situations where the case may have been dismissed, but it is still showing up on background checks. If your case was a stay of adjudication or you completed a diversion program, the waiting period is one year. Minn. Stat. 609A.02. If your case was dismissed, there is no waiting period following dismissal of the case. It’s important to note that if one of your charges was dismissed, but another of the charges in the same case was not, that the expungement court will be looking at the charge that was not dismissed for the timelines. There will be a waiting period, you can’t piecemeal expunge charges a part of the same case. If you have questions about your case, be sure to call an expungement lawyer. Determining the waiting period can be difficult to discern depending on your court record.
Waiting Period for Various Convictions
If you were convicted of a misdemeanor, the waiting period is two years. If you were convicted of a gross misdemeanor, the waiting period is three years. Qualified felonies are eligible for expungement after four years. But it is advised to call an expungement lawyer because there are special nuances to felony cases. If your case was charged as a felony, but you received a stay of imposition converting the case to a misdemeanor after completion of probation, the waiting period is four years. The waiting periods stated above are made assuming that you are otherwise eligible. There are circumstances that go beyond the scope of this blog post that could make you ineligible even if you waited through the waiting period.
Conclusion
If you want to expunge your case, you want an attorney who is knowledgeable, experienced, and well versed in the law on expungements. There are many attorneys in the state of Minnesota who offer to do expungement, but don’t practice in the area enough to know the intricacies of the law and how to utilize that to their client’s advantage. Contact Jack Rice Defense today for a free consultation. 651-447-7650
Peter Lindstrom
Peter is the head of the appellate and expungement departments at Jack Rice Defense. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed a felony conviction because of the brief Peter drafted. He has successfully expunged cases involving challenging issues with DWI, felony, and violence against family member cases. At the district court level, he has tried two felony jury trials to verdict, and successfully dismissed a felony gun case on 4th amendment grounds. Peter is particularly known for his intelligence, creativity, and legal acumen.
