Charges That Cannot Be Sealed
As you may know from previous posts, there is a difference between sealing and expunging a criminal record.
To make a long story short, if your charges were dismissed by the State (nolle prosse or no action), you should be able to have your arrest expunged, or destroyed.
If you have not been adjudicated (convicted) and received a withhold of adjudication, you may be able to
get your record sealed.
For the purposes of this post, I will only discuss sealing your record. For more information on expunging your record (your charges were dismissed or never formally filed)
click here.
If you have been convicted of any crime, you may not get that charge sealed. Period. The State of Florida will deny your application.
If you have ever been convicted of any crime, you will not be able to seal or expunge a subsequent charge.
If you have never been convicted of any crime, but received a withhold of adjudication for any of the following offenses, you still cannot have your record sealed if you were charged with the following crimes:
1.Arson
4. Illegal use of explosives
6. Abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult, or aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult
7. Aircraft piracy
10. Manslaughter
12.
Robbery (any kind of robbery, with or without a weapon)
15. Sexual activity with a child, who is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age, by or at solicitation of person in familial or custodial authority
18.
Act of
domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28 (doesn't matter if it's a
misdemeanor or felony)
20. Act of terrorism as defined in s. 775.30;
21. Manufacturing any substances in violation of chapter 893 (manufacturing narcotics)
23. Attempting or conspiring to commit any such crime
This is a pretty comprehensive list. It is unfair that the State will not permit the sealing of many of these offenses, including misdemeanor domestic violence charges. For those reasons, I always encourage clients charged with disqualifying offenses to fight hard for dismissal. Otherwise, you could be stuck with a criminal record.
I practice
criminal defense in Miami-Dade and Broward. I dedicate a significant percentage of my practice to the sealing and expunging of criminal records.
If you have a record that you would like sealed or expunged,
call me so that we may determine whether you are eligible.