Expunctions for Attorneys

Since the Third Court of Appeals issued the M.M. opinion, many attorneys have understandably felt lost regarding the state of expunction law.  The Legislature amended the expunction statute in 2011, but the Third Court determined in TxDPS v. G.B.E. that these amendments did not substantively change the statute from arrest-based to charge-based. Under an arrest-based approach, the right to expunge a dismissed charge is affected by the disposition of unrelated charges that were filed pursuant to the same arrest incident. Meanwhile, under a charge-based approach, a dismissed charge can be expunged regardless of the disposition of other charges.

CHRIS PERRI HAS SPOKEN TO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS ABOUT HOW TO LITIGATE EXPUNCTION ISSUES IN THIS CONFUSING CLIMATE.

The most common problem occurs when an attorney successfully negotiates a reduction of a defendant’s DWI charge.  For example, if the defendant takes deferred adjudication on a reduced charge of Obstruction, can the defendant expunge the dismissed DWI?  Until M.M., the answer appeared to be yes and attorneys advised their clients accordingly. Now the law prevents such an expunction, despite the Legislature's attempt to adopt a charge-based approach in 2015 (these bi-partisan efforts at expanding expunction rights were vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott). However, there are still sections of the statute that can be employed to obtain expunctions in complex fact scenarios through the use of prosecutorial "recommendations" and "certifications."

Chris Perri has spoken to defense attorneys about how to litigate expunction issues in this confusing climate.  If an attorney receives notice that the State is contesting a client’s petition for expunction, it is important to make the correct legal arguments that give the client a chance at prevailing.

Chris Perri Law is happy to work with your firm to litigate these expunction issues at an affordable rate.  Call us at 512-917-4378.

Back to Offerings for Attorneys