A person who has successfully completed deferred adjudication probation may be able to obtain an order of nondisclosure from the court. This order prevents government agencies from publicly disclosing criminal history information resulting from the offense. The criminal offense will determine whether a person is entitled to an order of nondisclosure and, if so, when such an order can be obtained.

For most misdemeanors, a person may file a petition for an order of nondisclosure immediately after the discharge from probation and dismissal of the offense. However, some misdemeanors require a defendant to wait five years from the date of the discharge and dismissal of the misdemeanor offense. Those offenses include: unlawful restraint, public lewdness, indecent exposure, assault, deadly conduct, terrorist threat, disorderly conduct, harassment, unlawful carrying of a firearm, obstructing highway or other passageway, interference with emergency telephone call, stalking, and bigamy. During this five year period, the applicant must not have received anything more than a citation for a fine-only traffic offense.

For most felony offenses, the applicant must wait ten years from the date of the discharge and dismissal of the felony offense.

Not all defendants who successfully complete a deferred adjudication probation are entitled to an order of nondisclosure. A person is not eligible if he/she has ever been convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for: an offense requiring registration as a sex offender, aggravated kidnapping, murder, capital murder, injury to a child/elderly/disabled individual, abandoning or endangering a child, violations of a protective order or magistrate's order, or any offense involving family violence.

Obtaining an order of nondisclosure is very advantageous. A person who receives an order of nondisclosure may deny having been arrested or prosecuted for the offense, unless the information is being used against the person in a subsequent criminal proceeding. However, an order of nondisclosure does not require the government to destroy the information. The information may be released to criminal justice agencies, non-criminal justice agencies authorized by statute or executive order to receive criminal history record information, and the person who is the subject of the criminal history information.

Private entities that compile and disseminate for compensation criminal history record information may not do so with respect to which an order of nondisclosure has been issued. A district court may issue a warning to a private entity for a first violation, but faces a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each subsequent violation. The Attorney General or prosecutor may sue to collect.

EXPUNCTIONS

Art. 55.01. Right to Expunction, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure

(a) A person who has been placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for commission of either a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged if:

(1) the person is tried for the offense for which the person was arrested and is:

(A) acquitted by the trial court, except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section; or

(B) convicted and subsequently pardoned; or

(2) each of the following conditions exists:

(A) an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a felony has not been presented against the person for an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested or, if an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a felony was presented, the indictment or information has been dismissed or quashed, and:

(i) the limitations period expired before the date on which a petition for expunction was filed under Article 55.02; or

(ii) the court finds that the indictment or information was dismissed or quashed because the presentment had been made because of mistake, false information, or other similar reason indicating absence of probable cause at the time of the dismissal to believe the person committed the offense or because it was void;

(B) the person has been released and the charge, if any, has not resulted in a final conviction and is no longer pending and there was no court ordered community supervision under Article 42.12 for any offense other than a Class C misdemeanor; and

(C) the person has not been convicted of a felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section, a district court may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a person who has been arrested for commission of a felony or misdemeanor under the procedure established under Article 55.02 of this code if the person is:

(1) tried for the offense for which the person was arrested;

(2) convicted of the offense; and

(3) acquitted by the court of criminal appeals.

(c) A court may not order the expunction of records and files relating to an arrest for an offense for which a person is subsequently acquitted, whether by the trial court or the court of criminal appeals, if the offense for which the person was acquitted arose out of a criminal episode, as defined by Section 3.01, Penal Code, and the person was convicted of or remains subject to prosecution for at least one other offense occurring during the criminal episode.

(d) A person is entitled to have any information that identifies the person, including the person's name, address, date of birth, driver's license number, and social security number, contained in records and files relating to the arrest of another person expunged if:

(1) the information identifying the person asserting the entitlement to expunction was falsely given by the person arrested as the arrested person's identifying information without the consent of the person asserting the entitlement; and

(2) the only reason for the information identifying the person asserting the entitlement being contained in the arrest records and files of the person arrested is that the information was falsely given by the person arrested as the arrested person's identifying information.

Art. 55.03. Effect of Expunction, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure

When the order of expunction is final:

(1) the release, dissemination, or use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited;

(2) except as provided in Subdivision 3 of this article, the person arrested may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order; and

(3) the person arrested or any other person, when questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about an arrest for which the records have been expunged, may state only that the matter in question has been expunged.

If you are eligible for an expunction you should contact an attorney to make sure that it is done right. If you are unsure if you qualify, contact a reputable attorney.