INDIANA'S NEW EXPUNGEMENT LAW

People deserve a fresh start or a second chance. So Indiana law regarding previous convictions and how they blemish a person’s record drastically changed on July 1, 2013. The new expungement law marks the first time Indiana has allowed crimes such as driving while intoxicated and drug dealing to be erased by the courts. The goal is to remove the crimes from public background-check engines used by employers so that the offense doesn't prevent a rehabilitated ex-offender from finding a job. The new law keeps potential employers from using the conviction against you in hiring/promoting decisions. Further, the new law punishes employers for contempt of court if job applicants are rejected because of expunged records. Police officers would still be able to view the person's criminal record.

Those petitioning the court to have their records expunged would have to show they've stayed out of trouble since their conviction, and must have successfully completed the entire sentence.  Most of the crimes that could be expunged are nonviolent. Convictions for sex crimes, federal offenses, out-of-state crimes and misconduct of a public official would not be eligible to be erased by the new law.  Certain other conditions must be met, including time frames and fees. 

Some highlights of the new expungement law:

• Provides for the expungement (sealing) of criminal records in situations where there was an arrest but no conviction or where a conviction was overturned on appeal. The person seeking to expunge an arrest record must petition the criminal court to review his or her case but does not have to pay a filing fee.
• If granted, expungement will seal (not destroy) records in court files, the department of corrections and the bureau of motor vehicles, and the state police, and with anyone who treated or provided services to the applicant under a court order.
• Each individual gets one expungement request in his/her lifetime.  However, the statute is silent as to how many times one may seek to seal arrest records. The expungement petition must be brought in the county where the conviction took place.  If you have multiple convictions, the request should be brought in a single petition. If you have convictions in multiple counties, the petitions in each county must all be brought within one year, and that will be considered a single request.
• For arrest records, misdemeanors, and class D Felonies, the expungement petition “shall” be granted if the individual meets the requirements called for in the statute.  No need to convince the judge that granting the expungement is a good idea.  For more serious crimes, the court “may” enter such an order and for the most serious of eligible crimes, the prosecutor’s consent must be obtained.
• The new law also suggests language for use in all Indiana employment Applications.  A prospective employee may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms that exclude expunged convictions or arrests such as: “Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime that has not been expunged by a court?”