Expungements in Texas, erasing a record

Expungement, also referred to as expunction, refers to courts erasing a criminal record or removing a particular charge. Attorney Tad Nelson can help clients expunge misdemeanor charges if they were found not guilty, or if the charges were dismissed. Even felonies can also be expunged in certain situations and Mr. Nelson can evaluate each case and determine whether or not this option is available. For those who need a clean record for employment or government purposes, expunction is the only way to free a record of criminal history.

Many people mistakenly believe that if they are found “not guilty” or if the case is dismissed, that their record is clean. However, the charge is not erased, the record still exists. Records relating to an arrest or even a criminal charge are created by law enforcement officials at the time of arrest and then handed to the Texas Department of Public Safety. They in turn maintain a database called "TCIC." TCIC tracks arrests and dispositions of cases that follow an arrest and reports this information to the national criminal information system called "NCIC."

Many county and district clerks’ offices throughout the state of Texas maintain local databases which contain arrest records and case dispositions. Because of the Texas Open Records Act, arrest records can also be viewed by the public for employment background investigations; apartment leasing and employment. Any prior criminal conduct is under public scrutiny by simply searching for any given name at the courthouse or municipal court. The only way to clear this criminal record is through expungement and Attorney Tad Nelson has the background to ensure that a criminal record is cleared if at all possible.

Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts when it comes to record expunction as the entire process may take up to a few months. This could delay a job hunt or the securing of credit or a new apartment or home loan. Once the expunction is properly completed, Attorney Tad Nelson helps clients start over with a clean break clearing them from mistakes of the past.

Expunctions are well worth the time and effort as once they are completed the release, dissemination, or use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited. The client may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order. When questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about an arrest for which the records have been expunged, the client may legally state that the matter in question has been expunged. For more information about any record expungement, contact Tad Nelson at (281) 280-0100.