The criminal expungement laws were changed in January 2015. The law was expanded to allow more individuals to expunge criminal conviction records.
In addition, House Bill 4210 was signed into law on September 22, 2016, providing retroactive changes to the MMMA which explicitly allow the use, possession, and manufacture of concentrates and marijuana-infused products. Many of those forced to take a plea deal or otherwise convicted under the defunct interpretation of the Carruthers opinion are eligible for the conviction to be set aside.
The new condition for the Michigan expungement law now permits more individuals the ability to clear offenses from their criminal record. The law is still limited, those who have a couple of criminal convictions are now eligible to apply for a court to have convictions removed. The law allows you to expunge one felony or two misdemeanor convictions. If you have more than the allotted amount, you can never remove any of them.
Some crimes and convictions can never be expunged, such as:
A felony that has a maximum possible sentence of life in prison
- An attempt to commit a felony for which the maximum punishment is life in prison
- A domestic violence felony conviction if the person had a prior domestic violence conviction
- Non-traffic offenses that are reported to the Secretary of State and placed on your master driving History, such as: Minor in Possession (MIP) and illegal drug convictions
- Most criminal sexual conduct crimes Serious child abuse All traffic offenses
- All terrorism related actions In some cases, courts will allow an individual to set aside an MIP conviction or a illegal drug offense.
Some courts will grant requests while others will not. Even if you are successful in expunging an MIP or an illegal drug offense from the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), the conviction will still appear on your master driving record.
Expungement Criteria. The changes in the law give a opportunity to those convicted of multiple criminal offenses, depending on the number and type of offense.
Felony Convictions To be eligible to expunge a felony conviction: You must not have a total of more than three (3) criminal convictions. Only one can be a felony (a felony conviction is an offense punishable by over a year in prison). Two of the convictions (if any) must have been misdemeanors (punishable by up to a year in the county jail). Five years must have passed from the date you were sentenced, completed probation, were discharged from parole, or were released from imprisonment, whichever occurs last, for the offense you wish to expunge.
Misdemeanor Expungement. To be eligible to expunge a misdemeanor conviction: You cannot have a felony conviction. You cannot have more than two (2) misdemeanor convictions.
Five years must have passed from the date you were sentenced, completed probation, were discharged from parole, or released from imprisonment, whichever occurs later in time, for the offense(s) you wish to expunge.
The law allows an applicant to request that one or both of the misdemeanors be expunged. The law now allows an applicant who was unsuccessful in an earlier expungement application to wait three (3) years from the date of the denial and re-petition for expungement. The court that denied the initial petition can also specify a shorter time than the 3 years.
If you meet the conditions listed above and your offense is eligible. You may file a petition in the same court where you were sentenced. Prior to filing a petition, realize that expunging a criminal offense is not a right, but a conditional privilege. The court has the entitlement to either award or deny your request. The court will review several things like the type of crime, the conditions, your age, and what you have done since.
Komorn Law can assist you through the process, and if viable, expunge a conviction that may be impeding your career or life. Contact us for a case evaluation at 800-656-3557
