Expungement

Understanding whether or not a criminal conviction can be expunged is very confusing.  Under the Clean Slate law in Michigan, some convictions are to be automatically expunged by the Michigan State Police, including:

• Up to 4 misdemeanors punishable by 93 days or more, but only after 7 years from the imposition of sentence;
• Unlimited misdemeanors with a lesser sentencing range, agin only after 7 years from the imposition of sentence;
• Up to 2 felonies after 10 years from the imposition of sentence or completion of imprisonment

However, there a number of exceptions to the Clean Slate law:  

• Certain convictions can never be suspended (i.e., murder, rape).  
• Convictions for felonies or misdemeanors punishable by 93 days or more  will not be automatically expunged if the individual has pending criminal charges or has been convicted of a criminal offense during the applicable 7 – 10 year waiting period.

Even if a conviction is not automatically expunged under the Clean Slate law, it still may be expunged through the formal application process.  Once again, there are certain convictions that can never be expunged.  Other convictions have different waiting periods before an individual can apply for expungement (depending on the conviction).  The application process requires obtaining your criminal history from the Michigan State Police, submitting fingerprints to confirm no convictions from other states or under federal law and applying for expungement in the court of conviction.

The complexity of expungement laws warrants the guidance of experienced legal counsel, not only to assure eligibility, but to succeed in expunging the offense or offenses that are eligible.