DUI Expungement - Can I Clear a DUI Charge From My Record in Florida?
The bad news first. It may not be possible to seal your DUI criminal record in Florida, since it is current prosecutorial policy in Florida to not offer a "withholding of adjudication" for DUI charges. Receiving a withhold adjudication means that the court is not formally adjudicating you of the crime charged. Another way of putting it is to say that the court is not formally convicting you. This distinction is important in Florida, since charges that you receive a withhold adjudication on are eligible to be sealed, while charges that you are formally convicted of cannot be sealed. However, if you received a withhold adjudication from a number of years ago or the policy changes in the future, you still may be eligible.
You may, however, have been successful in getting the DUI charge reduced to a lesser charge, such as reckless driving, for example. If you received a withhold adjudication for a lesser charge, then you may be able to seal your record, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements. Remember, in determining your eligibility to seal a record under Florida law, you must look at the ultimate charge that adjudication was withheld on, not the original arrest charge.
In addition, if your DUI charges were not prosecuted or dismissed by the State, or thrown out by the court, then you potentially could have that arrest expunged, again assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements. In Florida, acquittals are not eligible to be expunged or sealed. The idea is that the public need to access important public records such as jury trials outweighs any one individual's interest in having his or her records sealed. Personally, I'm not too sure of that logic, but unfortunately it is what it is, as they say. You also cannot expunge any convictions in Florida (and this rule is equally applicable to DUI convictions).
Basically if you can answer "no" to the following questions and your charges were dropped or dismissed, or you received a withhold adjudication, you should be able to seal or expunge your DUI arrest:
1. Have you been convicted of crime in any state before?
2. Have you sealed or expunged a criminal record in any state before?
3. Are you currently under court supervision (probation etc)?
Record sealing and expungement law can be confusing, but most Florida attorneys that specialize in this area of the law and will offer free evaluations to help you determine your eligibility.
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