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Asked over 3 years ago - Alexandria, VA
FlagI am worried about maintaining my secret clearance, so I need to get my record expunged of any charges.
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No. Virginia law does not allow expungement of records relating to convictions. In Virginia, expungement is limited to records relating to offenses which were dismissed, and it is only available in some of those situations. Generally speaking, if the records sought to be expunged relate to a misdemeanor offense which was dismissed and there is no criminal history, the expungement should be granted unless the Commonwealth persuades the Court that there is a good reason not to. However, if the records relate to a felony offense which was dismissed, or if there is a criminal history, the person seeking the petition bears the burden of explaining to the Court why the expungement should be granted.
T. Kevin Wilson, Esq.
The Wilson Law Firm
DUI & Criminal Defense...When Results Matter
9300 Grant Avenue
Suite 301
Manassas, Virginia 20110
Telephone 703-361-6100
Telephone 888-DUI-LWYR
Facsimile 703-365-7988
Web: www.TheWilsonLawFirm.org
Answered 02-15-2010: If your DWI resulted in a conviction of any sort, you cannot get the conviction nor the charge expunged. However, if you were originally charged with 2 cases including a DWI that was dropped, you can expunge that one. Check out my legal guide for more information on this subject. It is found at http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/expungemen.... Good luck with this.
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Brian Geno
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A person charged and then acquitted, who had charges nolled, or granted an absolute pardon, may petition for expungement. That means you may expunge records related to the DWI, but not related to a plea for Improper Driving.
An eligible person may petition for expungement of police records and court records relating to the charge expunged. Also the division with control of DNA records shall purge all records and identifiable information in the data bank pertaining to the person and destroy all samples from the person upon receipt of (i) a written request for expungement pursuant to this section and (ii) a certified copy of the court order reversing and dismissing the conviction.
