Expunge Your DUI

It sometimes happens that a person seeking to expunge a criminal record in Florida has open charges pending in another related case. Imagine, for example, that you are pulled over by a police officer for speeding. During the traffic stop, the officer discovers that your license is suspended and smells alcohol on your breath. You fail an administration of the breath test and are placed under arrest for driving under the influence (DUI). Your car is impounded and during an inventory search, a small amount of cocaine is discovered in your glove compartment. Charges are filed against you: possession of cocaine (a felony charge), plus DUI and driving with a suspended license (filed in misdemeanor traffic court).

You decide to hire a lawyer to handle your felony case and your lawyer works out a good deal with the State. Since this is your first criminal offense, you are offered a no contest plea with adjudication withheld. You accept, since your lawyer explained that having adjudication withheld means that you would be eligible to clear your criminal record. Now, you would like to begin the Florida expungement process with respect to the cocaine possession charge. However, the other charges from your arrest are still pending (recall the DUI and suspended license charge filed in misdemeanor court). Can you do it?

In Florida, the answer is no. First, you can only expunge a criminal record in Florida if charges against you have been dropped or dismissed by the prosecutor or court. When you receive a withholding of adjudication, you only may be eligible to seal your record. The main difference between record sealing and expungement is that a sealed record still exists (but the public is prevented from knowing its contents), while an expunged record is physically destroyed. However, under these circumstances you wouldn’t even be able to seal the record yet.

In a well-known case (to us Florida expungement attorneys, anyway), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which is the agency responsible for determining whether you are eligible to seal or expunge a criminal record in Florida, denied the request of a juvenile seeking to seal a drug possession charge from his record under similar circumstances to the example given above. The juvenile appealed the FDLE’s decision to the courts. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal held that the criterion set forth in Florida Statute Section 943.059(2)(d) specifically provides that an applicant is not eligible to seal or expunge a criminal record unless the applicant was not adjudicated guilty of committing any of the acts stemming from the arrest.

In layman’s terms, you cannot have any charges pending against you relating to the original arrest if you want to seal or expunge your record. All charges must be resolved before you can determine if you meet the statutory eligibility requirements. So although in our example above you received a withholding of adjudication on the cocaine possession charge, the DUI and driving with a suspended license charge remained pending, meaning you could ultimately be adjudicated guilty of either of these two charges and therefore be ineligible to seal any part of the record.

This reasoning extends to open charges in an unrelated case as well. The Florida statutes state that in order to be eligible to seal orexpunge a criminal record, you must never have been convicted of any crime, anywhere. If you have open charges, there is a chance you could be convicted on these charges and therefore would not be able to move forward with record sealing or expungement until all charges against you have been resolved.

Originally published here.

clear-dui.axesoweb.com Learn How To Clear Your DUI Record “Simple Step-by-Step Actions You Can Take Today To Clear Your DUI Record, Get Your Drivers License Back, and Save a Ton of Money, No… done to your personal life so that you’ll eventually be able to clear the DUI from your record …

The DUI affect on your life will be felt in the following ways: Money, time, humiliation, legal fees, embarrasment, incarceration, a DUI record, Loss of job and income, suspension and revocation of license, second offense, third offense, etc.

Maybe you lost your job, or your license to drive your car to your job was suspended. Now you have a whole new set of problems like, How do I get my license back? How do I get a DWI lawyer that knows the latest defenses? How do I afford the SR22 insurance costs, etc.

There is so much knowledge available now to develop strategies that will clear your driving record and or minimize the DUI effect.

This has been organized into a step-by-step digitized process that literally walks you through the exact steps you must take to get this done. But not everyone will be eligible to use the information to change their DUI affect.

Please take note of the eligibility criteria below…

The following people ARE NOT ELIGIBLE:

If your offense is related to vehicular homicide, you are not eligible.

If your DUI offense is complicated with felony drug charges you most likely are not eligible.

If your DUI offense involves extensive property damage and/or severe accident or injury you are not eligible.

If you are ELIGIBLE …then expunging your DUI record can occur by invoking several little known laws that you are entitled to and you can accomplish this from any state in the nation.

Each state has different DUI laws, but the way in which your records are handled is similar nationwide.

Ok, so you want to know what the DUI Process Manual can do for your particular DUI issues. I suggest you download the FREE DUI Strategies Report available here!

It was written by a collaboration of people, all with different areas of professional expertise. Then edited and organized by people who have been in your exact same shoes. That is very important. And must be used when trying to learn when and will a DUI affect your life!

Originally published here.