Expungement & Expungement Appeals

Sealing criminal records

Executive Records Expungement

Judicial Records Expungement

Minnesota’s Second-Chance Laws

Governor’s Pardons

Appealing Denied Expungement Orders

If you have been arrested, charged, or convicted of a criminal offense, you may be eligible to pursue expungement under a variety of different legal theories.

Criminal charges and convictions trigger hurdles for individuals that exist long after a jail sentence ends or probation expires. Even dismissed cases can result in significant hardships for individuals applying for jobs, finding suitable housing, or even traveling. Getting an expungement of your criminal records in Minnesota can significantly ease that burden.

A statutory expungement has the potential to seal, by court order, all records pertaining to a criminal conviction.

Wilson & Clas has extensive experience aiding clients in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Buffalo, Burnsville, Apple Valley, and statewide overcome those hurdles through petitioning Minnesota courts for statutory and judicial expungements. Speak with an affordable expungement lawyer today at 612-910-2104 for a free consultation and see whether your charge or conviction is eligible, or click here.

In 2015, the Minnesota Legislature broadly expanded the category of crimes for which individuals with convictions on their records may request expungement. Now more than ever before, individuals with convictions on their records—even convictions for any of 50 enumerated felony-level offenses—are eligible to request expungement as long as they’ve been discharged from probation and remained free of charges or (in some cases) convictions, since.

Two Main Types of Criminal Expungements

Statutory Expungements are expungements specifically available for criminal charges and convictions outlined in Minn. Stat. § 609A. et. seq. This includes all eligible misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor convictions, approximately 50 felony convictions, stays of adjudication, continuances for dismissals, and more. Statutory expungements impact executive records as well as judicial records—including records of an arrest, prosecution, and conviction held by agencies like the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Statutory expungements are generally more comprehensive than their counterparts, judicial expungements.

Judicial expungements are expungements that impact only judicial records. Judicial records include records filed with the courts, court dates, conviction records, sentences, and more. Due to the Separation of Powers doctrine, the judicial branch only has the power to order expungement of judicial records in the absence of statutory authority giving the judiciary the power to expunge more. While judicial expungements are less comprehensive than statutory expungements, individuals may request judicial expungement of their records for any criminal conviction.

Expungement Strategy

The best strategy in an expungement—like any good strategy—is multi-faceted. Wilson & Clas gathers evidence, reviews discovery, and crafts the strongest arguments in favor of expungement while addressing the necessary factors designated by Minnesota law. Generally speaking, the length of time since the criminal offense and/or criminal conviction is an important consideration. Many more “recent” convictions, however, are still eligible for comprehensive expungement under Minnesota’s statutory framework. Wilson & Clas has successfully obtained expungements for clients less than 3 years after the offense itself occurred.

It’s important to demonstrate to the court the positive steps that a person has taken since they were charged or convicted. This often includes obtaining transcripts, letters of recommendation, letters of support, employment records, treatment records. proof of sobriety, and other similar documentation.

As importantly, we strive to demonstrate to the court how severely a particular charge or conviction has continued to negatively impact our clients’ lives. Among other methods, this can be accomplished through submitting testimonials, letters of denial from employers and potential employers, denied promotion letters, loan denials, housing denials, apartment denials, and more. If you were fired because of a criminal conviction, the court must be made aware.

Trouble finding employment, maintaining employment, and finding suitable housing are some of the most compelling reasons for a court to consider granting expungement.

Wilson & Clas is a Minneapolis-based criminal expungement law firm with extensive experience in handling both statutory and judicial criminal expungements throughout Minnesota. The firm has obtained statutory expungements (full expungements of all judicial and executive records) for clients convicted of felony assault, DWI, disorderly conduct, and much more. The firm has also obtained successful expungement results in cases involving felony solicitation of a minor, felony theft, and more. The firm has experience before judges statewide, including in Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Scott, Wright, Rice, and Washington Counties, and more. Contact the firm for a free consultation to determine whether you or someone you know is eligible to request expungement.