New Michigan Expungement Law
Recently, the Michigan expungement law has changed, mostly for the better. People that could not clear up their criminal record in the past may now be eligible to erase that pesky criminal record.
Offenses that cannot be expunged
Previously, only three types of offenses could not be expunged, those were:
- Criminal offenses punishable by life in prison
- Criminal Sexual Conduct offenses (see exception below)
- Traffic offenses (including drinking and driving)
The following offenses have been added to the list of expungement ineligibility:
- Child Abuse in the second degree, Child Abuse in the Presence of Another Child
- A felony conviction for domestic violence, if the person has a previous
- misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence
- A violation for human trafficking
- CSC 4 if the conviction occurred after January 12, 2015
Expungement Eligibility
The expungement law has changed and is now more specific as to when a person is eligible; it states that 5 years must pass from the completion of a sentence before an expungement will be granted. That means that five years must have passed since you were discharged from probation, parole, or completed a jail sentence.
It used to be that only one offense could be set aside and it had to be the only offense on your record with the exception of two 90 day misdemeanors that occurred before your 21st birthday. A lot of people were ineligible for an expungement because they had a Driving While License Suspended on their record, or some other minimal but barring offense.
The law has changed, and now the 90-day misdemeanor has been amended to include any misdemeanor. The requirement that any misdemeanors a person has must have happened before their 21st birthday has been removed as well.
- A person convicted of not more than 1 felony and not more than 2 misdemeanors may petition the court to set aside the felony.
- A person convicted of not more than 2 misdemeanor offenses may petition the court to set aside 1 or both misdemeanors.
- A person convicted of CSC 4 (MCL 750.520e) before 1/12/15 may petition to set aside the conviction if the individual has not been convicted of another offense, other than 2 minor offenses. MCL 780.621(1)
- A person seeking to set aside a prostitution offense may do so without waiting the five years if they can show that they committed the offense as a result of human trafficking.
For more information about setting aside a criminal record in Michigan click here.
Michigan Expungement Lawyer
Hiring an experienced expungement lawyer can make all the difference between being marked a criminal for the rest of your life, or not having a conviction any more. If your petition is denied then you will not be eligible for another hearing for three years.
Michigan expungement lawyer, Aaron J. Boria, to date, has never been denied a client’s petition to have their criminal record erased. If you live outside of the state we may be able to get your an expungement without you coming to court.
Call (734) 453-7806 today for a free consultation.