Current limits for cases and arrests that one may expunge or seal (non-disclosure petitions) may change during the current Texas legislative session. For example, if one is arrested for a felony case that carries a five year statute of limitations, one must wait five years to clear up an arrest. This is the case even if no formal charges were ever brought against the person. Likewise, someone who is actually charged by indictment and goes to trial and wins may immediately expunge his or her record. Therefore, under the current state of the law, if one needs to quickly clean up one's record--a high school senior, for instance--that person is only able to do that by avoiding a speedy dismissal of the charges and facing the possibility of a conviction after trial.
Both private sector attorneys and government lawyers understand this inequity. We are hoping that the current legislature will correct this matter. One possibility is to allow prosecutors and judges to review appropriate cases and grant expunctions discretionarily. This does not mean that all dismissed cases may be expunged quickly, but it certainly offers the possibility that the high school senior can apply to college without having to disclose a bogus charge or his or her record.
