DC Record Sealing Lawyer

Expungements are allowed under D.C. Code § 16-801 et seq. (Division II, Title 16, Chapter 8 of the District of Columbia Code). Since this is an overview of the law on this subject, for informational purposes only, a DC record sealing attorney should be consulted for the application of the full law to an individual case. Call today to discuss your situation with an expungement lawyer and what legal options may be available to you.

What a Sealed Record Really Means

Sealing an individual’s record means that the public will no longer have access to it. For example, if somebody is arrested there are police reports generated and other documents that are sent over to the court, you know, when the person is charged with the crime and if a record is sealed, all of those documents become non-public. They are hidden from private employers and private background check companies and only people such as police, prosecutors, and courts might still have access to them.

Eligibility for Record Sealing in Washington, DC

In order to be eligible to have your record expunged you must fit into one of the four categories below:

1. You were never convicted of the particular crime and you can prove that you are actually innocent of the crime for which you were arrested.
2. You were charged with an “eligible misdemeanor” (not one of more than 30 ineligible misdemeanors), but you were not convicted, and more than two years have passed since the case was terminated.
3. You were charged with an “ineligible misdemeanor” or a felony, but you were not convicted, and four years have passed since the case was terminated (three years if the charge was “no papered”).
4. You were convicted of an “eligible misdemeanor” or an “eligible felony” (a violation of the Bail Reform Act is the only eligible felony) and eight years have passed since the case was terminated.

[A conviction is defined in§ 16-801 as a judgment or sentence based on a verdict or finding of guilty, a plea of guilty or a no-contest [nolo contendere] plea, or a plea or verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.]

Record Sealing Process

The individual seeking to have their record expunged or sealed will file a motion with the Clerk of the Superior Court. Movants under category (1) above file their motions seeking to seal all of the records of the arrest and related court proceedings on the grounds of actual innocence. All other movants (2-4 above) file their motions seeking to seal publicly available records of the arrest and related court proceedings on the grounds of interest of justice. Because getting an expungement in D.C. can be an adversarial process because the prosecutor’s office may oppose the motion, legal assistance from a DC record sealing lawyer is advised.

The Superior Court grants motions to seal, for persons qualifying under (1) above, if the movant can prove his or her actual innocence by showing that either the crime never occurred or that the movant did not commit it.

The Superior Court grants motions to seal for persons qualifying under (2)-(4) above, if it is in the interests of justice to do so. In so deciding, the Superior Court weighs various considerations, including the nature of the offense and the movant’s role therein, the community’s interest in retaining access to the records, etc.

Difference Between Expungement and Record Sealing

In many respects nothing and in other respects, there are a lot of differences. Really the two terms are kind of used interchangeably. The DC Council passed a statute in 2006 that allowed people to seal their records and created record-sealing in the District and they just chose to use the word sealing rather than expungement.

Expungement is used in some other states and is usually associated with the destruction of criminal records, but we only seal records here.