How would my son get his criminal record expunged?
Full Question:
Answer:
Guilty pleas are an admission of blameworthiness by a person accused of a crime. Sometimes guilty pleas are made as part of a plea bargain in which the prosecutor agrees to reduce the charges or the punishment in exchange for the guilty plea. A guilty plea saves the time and expense of a lengthy trial. The judge must approve the plea bargain before accepting the plea. Plea bargaining typically involves the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some counts of a charge in return for a lighter sentence that he or she would have been given for the more serious charge. Plea bargaining can involve charge bargaining. Charge bargaining involves a negotiation of the specific charges (counts) or crimes that the defendant will face at trial. Usually, in return for a plea of "guilty" to a lesser charge, a prosecutor will dismiss the higher or other charge(s) or counts. For the defendants, plea bargaining provides the opportunity for a lighter sentence on a less severe charge.
Expungement is the process of legally destroying, obliterating or striking out records or information in files, computers and other depositories relating to criminal charges. Expungement of the felony charge may not be necessary in your son's circumstances if the court accepts his guilty plea to a lesser charge.
The following are Iowa statutes:
692.2 Dissemination of criminal history data — fees.
1. The department may provide copies or communicate information from
criminal history data to the following:
a. Criminal or juvenile justice agencies.
b. A person or public or private agency, upon written application on a
form approved by the commissioner of public safety and provided by the
department to law enforcement agencies, subject to the following
restrictions:
(1) A request for criminal history data must be submitted in writing by
mail or as otherwise provided by rule. However, the department shall
accept a request presented in person if it is from an individual or an
individual's attorney and requests the individual's personal criminal
history data.
(2) The request must identify a specific person by name and date of
birth. Fingerprints of the person named may be required.
(3) Criminal history data that does not contain any disposition data
after eighteen months from the date of arrest may only be disseminated by
the department to criminal or juvenile justice agencies, to the person who
is the subject of the criminal history data or the person's attorney, or to
a person requesting the criminal history data with a signed release from
the person who is the subject of the criminal history data authorizing the
requesting person access to criminal history data.
(4) Upon receipt of official notification of the successful completion of
probation following a deferred judgment, criminal history data regarding
the person who successfully completed the probation shall only be
disseminated by the department to a criminal or juvenile justice agency, to
the person who is the subject of the criminal history data or the person's
attorney, or to another person with a signed release from the person who is
the subject of the criminal history data authorizing the requesting person
access to the criminal history data.
(5) Any release of criminal history data by the department shall
prominently display the statement: "AN ARREST WITHOUT DISPOSITION IS NOT AN
INDICATION OF GUILT".
(6) Records of acquittals or dismissals by reason of insanity and records
of adjudications of mental incompetence to stand trial in cases in which
physical or mental injury or an attempt to commit physical or mental injury
to another was alleged shall not be disseminated to persons or agencies
other than criminal or juvenile justice agencies or persons employed in or
by those agencies.
2. Requests for criminal history data from criminal or juvenile justice
agencies shall take precedence over all other requests.
3. A person who requests criminal history data shall not be liable for
damages to the person whose criminal history data is requested for actions
the person requesting the information may reasonably take in reliance on
the accuracy and completeness of the criminal history data received from
the department if all of the following are true:
a. The person requesting the criminal history data in good faith believes
the criminal history data to be accurate and complete.
b. The person requesting the criminal history data has complied with the
requirements of this chapter.
c. The identifying information submitted to the department by the person
requesting the criminal history data is accurate regarding the person whose
criminal history data is sought.
4. Unless otherwise provided by law, access under this section to
criminal history data by a person or public or private agency does not
create a duty upon a person, or employer, member, or volunteer of a public
or private agency to examine the criminal history data of an applicant,
employee, or volunteer.
5. A person other than the department of public safety shall not
disseminate criminal history data maintained by the department to persons
who are not criminal or juvenile justice agencies.
6. The department may charge a fee to any nonlaw- enforcement person or
agency to conduct criminal history data checks. Notwithstanding any other
limitation, the department may use revenues generated from the fee to
administer this section and other sections of the Code providing access to
criminal history data and to employ personnel to process criminal history
data checks.
However, the fee for conducting a criminal history data check for a
person seeking release of a certified copy of the person's own criminal
history data to a potential employer, if that employer requests the release
in writing, shall not be paid by the person but shall be paid by the
employer.
692.17 Exclusions — purposes.
Criminal history data in a computer data storage system shall not include
arrest or disposition data or custody or adjudication data after the person
has been acquitted or the charges dismissed, except that records of
acquittals or dismissals by reason of insanity and records of adjudications
of mental incompetence to stand trial in cases in which physical or mental
injury or an attempt to commit physical or mental injury to another was
alleged may be included. Criminal history data shall not include custody or
adjudication data after the juvenile has reached twenty-one years of age,
unless the juvenile was convicted of or pled guilty to a serious or
aggravated misdemeanor or felony between age eighteen and age twenty-one.
For the purposes of this section, "criminal history data" includes the
following:
1. In the case of an adult, information maintained by any criminal
justice agency if the information otherwise meets the definition of
criminal history data in section 692.1, except that source documents shall
be retained.
2. In the case of a juvenile, information maintained by any criminal or
juvenile justice agency if the information otherwise meets the definition
of criminal history data in section 692.1. In the case of a juvenile,
criminal history data and source documents, other than fingerprint records,
shall not be retained.
Fingerprint cards received that are used to establish a criminal history
data record shall be retained in the automated fingerprint identification
system when the criminal history data record is expunged.
Criminal history data may be collected for management or research
purposes.
907.9 Discharge from probation.
1. At any time that the court determines that the purposes of probation
have been fulfilled and any fees imposed under sections 815.9 and 905.14
have been paid, the court may order the discharge of a person from
probation.
2. At any time that a probation officer determines that the purposes of
probation have been fulfilled and any fees imposed under sections 815.9 and
905.14 have been paid, the officer may order the discharge of a person from
probation after approval of the district director and notification of the
sentencing court and the county attorney who prosecuted the case.
3. The sentencing judge may order a hearing on its own motion, or shall
order a hearing upon the request of the county attorney, for review of such
discharge. If the sentencing judge is no longer serving or unable to order
such hearing, the chief judge of the district or the chief judge's designee
shall order any hearing pursuant to this section. Following the hearing,
the court shall approve or rescind such discharge. If a hearing is not
ordered within thirty days after notification by the probation officer, the
person shall be discharged and the probation officer shall notify the state
court administrator of such discharge.
4. At the expiration of the period of probation and if the fees imposed
under sections 815.9 and 905.14 have been paid or on condition that
unpaid supervision fees be paid, the court shall order the discharge of
the person from probation, and the court shall forward to the governor a
recommendation for or against restoration of citizenship rights to that
person. A person who has been discharged from probation shall no longer be
held to answer for the person's offense. Upon discharge from probation,
if judgment has been deferred under section 907.3, the court's criminal
record with reference to the deferred judgment shall be expunged. The
record maintained by the state court administrator as required by
section 907.4 shall not be expunged. The court's record shall not be expunged in
any other circumstances.
5. A probation officer or the director of the judicial district
department of correctional services who acts in compliance with this
section is acting in the course of the person's official duty and is not
personally liable, either civilly or criminally, for the acts of a person
discharged from probation by the officer after such discharge, unless the
discharge constitutes willful disregard of the person's duty.