Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to get your DUI conviction expunged under Oklahoma law. Oklahoma defines “expunged” as sealing all criminal or civil records involving actions by the state against a person arising out of an arrest, transaction, or other event. Effectively, receiving an expungement means that the public cannot learn, by a search of the court records, that you were arrested or convicted for a crime. People could learn about a crime from other means, however, such as by searching newspaper articles or talking to witnesses. If an expungement is granted, the state retains any physical records such as fingerprints and evidence, but it is not connected to your arrest record.
You may seek to expunge your entire arrest record, and if you received a deferred sentence you may seek to expunge the plea and have your case record reflect that the case was dismissed. Expunging your arrest record costs $150, while expunging your court record is free. The state of Oklahoma recommends seeking legal advice to help with your expungement because completing the required forms and giving notice can be complicated.
Not every crime may be expunged from your record. Your arrest or conviction must meet specific requirements under the law, and then you must fulfill a series of administrative tasks such as filling out paperwork. The state even may object and block a particular expungement. Types of arrests and convictions that are eligible to be expunged include the following:
- Acquittals
- Reversals of conviction on appeal
- Discovery of innocence using DNA after conviction
- Pardons
- Arrests with no charges filed and the time to file charges has expired
- All charges dismissed, no prior felonies or pending charges for other crimes, and the time to file charges has expired (excludes deferred judgments and delayed sentences)
- Successfully completed deferred judgment or delayed sentence for misdemeanor resulting in dismissal of charges, no pending charges for other crimes, and one year has passed since dismissal
- Successfully completed deferred judgment or delayed sentence for nonviolent felony resulting in dismissal of charges, no prior felonies or pending charges for other crimes, and five years have passed since dismissal
- Convicted of misdemeanor but sentenced to pay fine of less than $501, paid fine or time served, no prior felonies or pending charges for other crimes
- Convicted of misdemeanor and served time or suspended sentence or paid fine of over $500, no prior felonies or pending charges for other crimes, and five years have passed since the end of the person’s last misdemeanor sentence
- Convicted of a nonviolent felony, pardoned, no prior felonies, not convicted of a separate misdemeanor in the last fifteen years, no pending charges for other crimes, and ten years have passed since the felony conviction
- Convicted of no more than two nonviolent felonies, pardoned for both, no pending charges for other crimes, and twenty years have passed since the person’s last conviction, or
- The person was arrested or charged for a crime that was committed by another person who stole the first person’s identity
Charged with a DUI? Seek out a DUI attorney with the know-how to tackle your case the right way from the start. Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor, now teaches other attorneys and law enforcement about sobriety testing techniques and defends Oklahoma drivers charged with DUIs. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.