Expungement of Criminal Records in Georgia

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A criminal record can be a bar to certain types of employment, licensing, holding public office, and even the right to vote. Most states allow for a process called expungement that will remove certain arrests or criminal convictions from the offender’s record.


Depending upon the laws of the state in which you live and the nature of the crime, you may be able to get an arrest or conviction sealed or erased from your legal record. After the expungement process is complete, you will not need to disclose the conviction on a job or school application, and in most instances no record of the arrest or conviction will show up during a public records inspection or background check commonly done by potential employers, landlords, and educational institutions.


An expunged arrest or conviction may not be completely erased, however, and ordinarily will remain an accessible part of a person's criminal record, accessible to certain government agencies, including law enforcement and the criminal courts. This limited accessibility is also known as a criminal record being "under seal." In some legal proceedings, an expunged conviction that is under seal may still be considered as proof of a prior conviction.


In Georgia, records of arrest, including any fingerprints or photographs of the individual taken in relation to the arrest, may be eligible for expungement. Incident reports or other records that a crime was committed or reported to law enforcement are not allowed to be destroyed. Custodial records maintained by county or municipal jail or detention centers are not subject to expungement. DNA profiles of persons whose convictions are reversed and cases are dismissed may be expunged. Records of juveniles not found guilty of delinquency may also be expunged.


According to Georgia Code § 35-3-37, the procedure that must be followed to get a criminal record expunged in Georgia varies according to the circumstance:


In the case of incomplete or inaccurate records, the subject of the records may request the agency having custody or control of the records to purge, modify, or supplement them and to notify the Georgia Criminal Information Center of the changes. The individual may, within 30 days of such decision, enter an appeal of the agency’s decision to the superior court of the county of his or her residence or to the court in the county where the agency exists, with notice to the agency. The court shall conduct a hearing and may order such relief as it finds to be required by law.


In the case of a person arrested and not convicted, the individual may make a written request for expungement to the original agency having jurisdiction in the case. Upon receipt of the written request, the agency shall provide a copy of the request to the proper prosecuting attorney, who will review the request to determine if it meets the criteria for expungement. If the request meets the criteria, the prosecuting attorney will then review the records of the arrest to determine if any of the material must be preserved in order to protect the constitutional rights of the accused. If the agency declines to expunge the arrest record, the individual may file an action in the superior court where the agency is located.


For more information on expungement in the state of Georgia, go to the USLegal website.