Expunging Your Arrest Record Before Graduating College

Expungement is the complete destruction or sealing of criminal records so that they do not show up in an ordinary background search. There are different qualifications that you have to meet in order to have your arrest record, misdemeanors, or felonies expunged. This post will be focused on expunging your arrest record, especially for those who have not graduated from their respective college yet.

Indiana Code section 35-38-9-1 lays out the qualifications and the process of expunging an arrest record that did not lead to a misdemeanor or a felony conviction. The section applies to a person who has been arrested, charged with an offense, or alleged to be a delinquent child. The person seeking to expunge their arrest must wait one (1) year after the date of the arrest in order to begin the process of expungement. As long as the person was not convicted of a criminal charge or adjudicated a delinquent child, and if one year has passed since the arrest, then the person may petition the court for expungement of the records related to the arrest.

Getting your arrest record expunged as early as possible is extremely important. Most job and rental applications require a background check of sorts, and previous arrest records will likely show up on background checks. In addition, applying for graduate school will be a more difficult process when there are arrests on your record. Admission boards are permitted to take an applicant’s arrest record into account when deciding whether to grant admission or not.

In addition, Indiana law prohibits unlawful discrimination against a person whose record has been expunged. Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-10 states that outside of a few exceptions, it is unlawful for a person to suspend, expel, refuse to employ/admit, and otherwise discriminate against any person because of an arrest record expunged or sealed. This means that once your arrest record has been expunged, an employer cannot deny you employment because of an expunged arrest record, nor is a school able to suspend or expel you. This Indiana law gives adequate protection to those with expunged arrest records, making it even more important to get arrest records expunged as soon as possible.

It is vital that you get an arrest record expunged before graduating from college so that you are not disadvantaged while entering the work force or post undergraduate life. The experienced criminal attorneys at McNeelyLaw LLP are here to guide you through the expungement process.