Colorado Expungement

Colorado Expunge Document
Expungement is not possible for all past criminal records but under most circumstances any correctional facility, court, criminal justice, and law enforcement agency files can be affected during expungement. All records regard an individual's apprehension, detection, detention, arrest, trial, or disposition in accordance to an offense can be selected for destruction in the granting of an expungement. However civil lawsuits, judgments, and property deeds will not affected in this process.

Defining Expungement
Expungement can be a difficult process and is defined as the sealing or erasing of an individual's past criminal history that will make the crime appear as if it never occurred. In the state of Colorado this can be for both conviction records and arrest records. Juvenile delinquent cases are treated differently from adult cases as any portion of the record--whether it be from the district attorney, the department of human services, or local law enforcement agencies--can be sealed from viewing and erased. This information will however be left available for applications to the United States military forces upon request. Minors with driving records while intoxicated have the opportunity to expunge their criminal records when conditions are met according to Colorado Statute 42-2-121.

Expungement Eligibility
Only specific individuals are eligible for record expungement. No matter the circumstances, a majority of the time juvenile records are eligible for expungement under Colorado Statute 19-1-306. This includes the sealing of delinquent records. At the time of adjudication, the court will inform the individual on its own motion of the right to expungement of the said records from the juvenile parole department or the juvenile probation department. All records with personal information will not be able to be disclosed to the public after sealing. These records include identification information, a list of the state agencies, a list of the local agencies, and the officials who had contact with the individual. None of these records will be made available to local law enforcement agencies, district attorneys, or the department of human services.

Records will only be obtained, following expungement, when petitioned to the court with sufficient evidence sighting probable cause. A hearing will follow. When a petition is filed, the court will expunge records in relation to a drunk driving conviction with a BAC between point zero two and point zero five but only if the individual has presented a request and provides accurate information, is over the age of twenty-one, the court action of the said offense has concluded, the individual has not been convicted of any other offense while under the age of twenty-one, and all fines according to the conviction have been paid and all requirements completed.

Expungement can also mean the erasure of all fingerprints and DNA records that were associated with a specific case. Those that have been accused of crimes but were acquitted, the charges were dismissed, or there were not charges made are always eligible for record erasing under the law. Certain driving under the influences and driving while intoxicated offense may also be eligible along with pardoned individuals.

See also:
Colorado Misdemeanor External link (opens in new window)
Colorado Felony External link (opens in new window)
Colorado Gun Laws External link (opens in new window)