Effects of Having a Minor Criminal Record

In this digital age, even minor criminal records are immediately available with a simple search of the public court records. This 2014 Time magazine article–A Misdemeanor Conviction Is Not a Big Deal, Right?  Think Again–details some of the hindrances people with misdemeanor records suffer.

Whether you’re applying for a better job, credit, or housing, even a small mark on your background check can make all the difference. Fortunately, expungement laws exist to eliminate the disadvantage of having a criminal record after a period of good conduct, but only if you take action. Iowa allows the expungement of convictions of minor in possession of alcohol and public intoxication, as well as dismissed charges even for non-alcohol related offenses where all counts were dismissed.

The benefits of getting a record cleared were discussed in a recent study by Stanford University on the cost-benefit analysis of obtaining an expungement, which concluded that:

• “Sixty-percent of employers claimed they would not knowingly hire someone with a criminal record.”
• “Having one’s record expunged greatly increases the chance of being hired.”
• The average expungement recipient “reported an increase in yearly income of $6,190 after record clearance.”

*Source: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Criminal Record Expungement in Santa Clara County, March 2014.

Consider looking into whether you can clear your record.  It may have a bigger impact than you think.

Hiring an Attorney to Clear Your Record

Much like hiring an accountant to prepare your tax returns, hiring an attorney to clear your record can give you peace of mind knowing a professional will handle the matter correctly so you don’t have to worry about it.  The process typically occurs in three simple steps.  First, an attorney checks your personal information against the available criminal records and applicable Iowa Code sections to determine your eligibility.  Second, your expungement request is prepared and filed.  Third, notice is provided to the necessary parties and a hearing before the court may be held before your request can be granted.

To obtain your case information, you can pay the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations for a copy of your criminal history, or you can simply obtain it online for free at Iowa Courts Online.

Otherwise, if you have a public intoxication charge, underage alcohol possession charge, or a dismissed record, you can contact me by calling (515) 802-3123 or email me your full name, date of birth, and record you’d like expunged to tyler@smithlawiowa.com and I will typically respond by the next business day.

New Iowa Law Authorizes Expungement of Dismissed Charges

Have you ever been charged for a crime that was later dismissed?  If so, that charge is still a matter of public record and is easily visible on Iowa Courts Online.  Employers, landlords, and even friends and family often check online court records and then make decisions based upon a person’s criminal record. It seems unfair that a crime you were never convicted of could hold you back.  Fortunately, new law that will take effect January 1, 2016,  should help fix that problem.

The new law, Iowa Senate File 385, was unanimously passed by both chambers of the Iowa Legislature and signed by Governor Branstad on May 1, 2015. The law has some basic requirements in order to get an expungement.  First, all (not just some) of the charges associated with the crime must also have been dismissed or resulted in an acquittal.  For example, if you were charged with assault and resisting arrest, and the assault was dismissed but you pled to resisting arrest, you might not be eligible to expunge the assault charge.

Second, at least 180 days must have passed since the order dismissing the charges.  The court may allow individuals to file for an expungement in less than 180 days upon a showing of good cause.

Third, you must have paid all court costs and fees before requesting the expungement.

Fourth, and this is one that proably doesn’t apply to many people, the dismissal could not be due to a plea of insanity or incompetence to stand trial.

If all the above criteria are met, you’re eligible to have the record expunged, in which case it would become a confidential record exempt from public access and would be removed from Iowa Courts Online.

This law applies to all crimes EXCEPT simple misdemeanor traffic offenses. The law is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2016.  Look for self-help expungement forms, or contact an attorney, to get your expungement request on file.

Iowa Expungement Nuts and Bolts

Iowa expungements can erase past mistakes.

Iowa legislation favors the expungement of several kinds of criminal history records:

1. Possession of Alcohol Under the Legal Age (or PAULA, for short), which is often known as Minor In Possession (i.e., MIP), can be removed pursuant to Iowa Section 123.47, as long as at least 2 years have gone by since the finding of guilt and you acquired no further findings of guilt (simple vehicle citations are not considered) throughout that two year time. Frequently, it is high school students and college undergrads who receive these citations and need them removed before they send resumes for careers, summer internships, higher education, or graduate school. In today’s tight job marketplace, just a small misdemeanor conviction could be a significant hindrance.

2. Public Intoxication— which means consumption of alcohol in open, being intoxicated in public, or even merely pretending to be intoxicated in public– may be expunged under Iowa Code 123.46 so long as two years have gone by since the conviction and you obtained no other criminal convictions (not counting simple traffic violations) throughout that exact same 2 year time (these are the same requirements for erasing a PAULA in Iowa ). You may obtain a public intoxication conviction whether you are an adult or a minor. As a result, numerous adults who may have received a public intoxication charge while at a football game or at a wedding party, for instance, smartly seek to remove the record before it harms their job, credit, or references.

3. Deferred Judgments are a kind of judicial option that can apply to a wide group of criminal charges that are normally petty or minor in nature. In the common deferred judgment circumstance, a charged individual pleads guilty to the citation, but the court defers, or suspends, the guilty plea and orders probation instead. Granted that all the requirements of probation are fully finished, at that time the record is able to be sealed or expunged from the public record.

The steps for removing criminal misdemeanor histories can be summarized in 3 basic stages.

First is the drafting of a legal pleading known as the petition, or request to the court, seeking expungement. The petition ought to contain the relevant facts and the proper Iowa laws relating to your case.

Secondly, once the petition has been appropriately drafted, it must be filed with the correct courthouse (each of Iowa’s counties has its own courthouse) and provided to the appropriate prosecuting attorney’s address.

Third, with the correct filings, notice to parties, and legal application, the judge will consider the request and often grant the expungement without a hearing by docketing a ruling requiring that the court clerk and proper state departments expunge or erase the case history.

Iowa Expungement

Welcome to the Iowa Expungement Law Blog, your source for free information regarding Iowa expungements and resources.