Today, I was delighted to receive an order of expungement. An expungement is an order from the court directing the clerk of the court to destroy the records of the criminal charge or conviction. One of the services we provide is to expunge any criminal charges possible. Ordinarily, only cases that are dismissed, retired, or one was found not guilty are eligible for expungement. What made this order of expungement special?
In 2012, the Tennessee State Legislature passed an expansion of the expungement law in Tennessee. It allows certain types of criminal convictions to be expunged. It was a great law. One drawback was it was unclear of whether some older crimes could be expunged. Our office filed a petition to expunge a criminal charge not knowing if we would be successful. A forty-year-old case was expunged. The take away is to file the petition and see what happens.