Is your criminal history hindering your employment opportunities and holding you back from living your life? Everyone makes mistakes, but that shouldn’t always dictate your future. As we learn from our past, we should have the opportunity to make amends and grow.
At Napier Law Firm, we help people like you get a fresh start by clearing their criminal records. Get a free consultation with a Harris County expungement lawyer today and see if expungement can help you move forward.
Why Choose Napier Law Firm for Your Expungement Needs?
Napier Law Firm has helped people all across Harris County expunge their criminal records and regain control of their lives.
Our founder, George Napier, understands the criminal justice system, as he has worked as an Assistant District Attorney and Chief Prosecutor. He is familiar with the prosecutor’s perspective and has the expertise you need for your expungement process.
He believes the criminal justice system is made to reform rather than punish people. Everyone deserves a chance to amend themselves and move forward with a clean slate. Thus, he stopped working with the district attorney’s office and started helping people, bearing the lifelong impacts of their mistakes.
Listen to what Harris County residents have to say about him:
“Mr. Napier is everything I needed in an attorney. He did an awesome job on an almost impossible case and calmly reassured me through it all. I was so impressed, and I highly recommend him. If you need a job done by a professional, confident go-getter Mr. Napier is the attorney to get the job done.” – Amber
“Straight truth. He could have taken my money and told me he could get me a better deal. Instead, he told me that my current offer from the DA was good. I recommend George Napier.” – Carman
In addition, he is a four-time recipient of an award for excellence in criminal trials. If he decides to take on your expungement case, you receive full support throughout the process. Call us to discuss your situation. We can help you get your record expunged.
Who Is Eligible for Expungement?
Texas laws permit expungement of your criminal record only in certain circumstances:
- You were tried for the offense and acquitted by the trial court. Acquittal-based relief is subject to the criminal-episode restriction in Article 55A.151.
- You were convicted and later pardoned for the offense, or received qualifying relief based on actual innocence.
- You were convicted and then acquitted by the Court of Criminal Appeals, or by a court of appeals after the period for granting discretionary review has expired. This is a discretionary expunction route; a reversal that sends the case back for another trial is not itself an appellate acquittal.
- Your case was dismissed. A dismissal can support expunction only when the requirements of an applicable statutory route are met; dismissal alone does not establish eligibility.
- A grand jury returned a no-bill. A no-bill is not an acquittal or a finding of innocence. Expunction still depends on the applicable charging history, waiting period or other statutory route, and eligibility requirements.
- You completed a qualifying pretrial intervention program and the indictment or information was dismissed or quashed for that reason. The other requirements of Articles 55A.051 and 55A.053 must also be met.
- Someone used your identifying information without your consent when arrested, or you were arrested solely because of a clerical identification error. A separate procedure addresses qualifying mistaken-identity information; it does not erase the actual offender’s conviction.
Texas Law Treats Class C Misdemeanors Differently
You can get an expunction after successfully completing deferred disposition for a Class C misdemeanor if the case is dismissed and the other expunction requirements are met. Article 55A.051 makes an exception for Class C misdemeanors to its community-supervision restriction, not to its requirement that the charge have no final conviction and no longer be pending. Eligibility does not mean the record is cleared automatically: an expunction order is still required.
In a fine-only misdemeanor case, deferred disposition allows the judge to defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt. The judge sets conditions, which may include community service. When the court determines that the requirements have been met, it must dismiss the complaint; that dismissal is not a final conviction.
Class C misdemeanors are minor offenses and include:
- Theft of property worth less than $100, unless a prior conviction, the type of property, or another statutory circumstance raises the offense level
- Simple assault involving a threat or offensive or provocative contact, unless a statutory enhancement applies; assault causing bodily injury is generally Class A or higher
- Disorderly conduct, except the firearm-discharge and weapon-display offenses classified as Class B under Penal Code Section 42.01(d)
- Public intoxication, generally Class C; separate punishment provisions apply to people younger than 21
- Criminal trespass in the specific Class C circumstances identified in Penal Code Section 30.05(d)(2) or (d-3); criminal trespass is otherwise generally Class B or higher
Expunction laws are immensely complex. Therefore, it’s difficult to determine whether you’re eligible for expunction without reviewing your case.
Contact us to discuss your case with an experienced Harris County expungement lawyer. We can review your case and determine whether you are eligible for expunction.
Waiting Period to File an Expunction
The waiting period depends on the expunction route. The periods below run from the date of arrest and apply to the no-indictment-or-information route in Article 55A.052. That route requires that no indictment or information charging a misdemeanor based on the arrest, or any felony arising from the same transaction, has been presented at any time after the arrest. You must also have been released, have no final conviction or pending charge, and satisfy the community-supervision condition, including its Class C exception.
For misdemeanor expunctions, the charging and supervision requirements are applied to the offense whose records are sought; another ineligible misdemeanor from the same arrest does not automatically bar relief. Any felony arising from the same transaction requires separate analysis.
- 180 days for a Class C misdemeanor arrest, if there was no felony charge arising from the same transaction
- One year for a Class A or B misdemeanor arrest, if there was no felony charge arising from the same transaction
- Three years for a felony arrest, or if there was a felony charge arising from the same transaction
Instead of waiting for one of those periods, Article 55A.052(a)(4) allows the prosecutor to certify that the arrest records are not needed for any criminal investigation or prosecution, including someone else’s. The other requirements of that route still apply. The statute of limitations does not have to expire under Article 55A.052. Without that certification, an expunction based on the listed waiting periods must allow the investigating law enforcement agency and prosecutor to retain the arrest records and files.
Other routes have different rules. Article 55A.053 covers indictments or informations dismissed or quashed for specified reasons, including qualifying pretrial intervention, and does not require limitations to expire. Article 55A.054 applies when prosecution is no longer possible because limitations has expired. Both remain subject to Article 55A.051, including its no-pending-charge requirement. Trial-court acquittals have their own procedure; at the required request, an order for an entitled person must be entered within 30 days of acquittal. Article 55A.101 also permits discretionary relief following a qualifying appellate acquittal or a prosecutor’s pretrial recommendation. These routes are not governed by one universal waiting chart, and other statutory restrictions may apply.
Do Not Confuse Expungement With Sealing Records
Expungement and sealing records are often used interchangeably but provide different benefits.
Expungement
Expungement removes the records covered by the court’s order through the return, destruction, or removal of identifying information required by law. It does not guarantee that every record is destroyed: statutory retention exceptions apply. Once the order is final, you generally may deny the arrest and the existence of the expunction order. If questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about the expunged arrest, you may state only that the matter has been expunged; special retention provisions can also limit the order’s effect.
Texas laws provide limited criteria when it comes to allowing you to expunge your criminal record.
Sealing Records
As the name suggests, your records are sealed. They are not erased like expungement. The law only restricts the general public from accessing your record. It’s also known as nondisclosure orders.
A nondisclosure order protects the criminal history information it covers, not your entire history. Texas Government Code Section 411.0755 says you are not required, in an application for employment, information, or licensing, to state that you were the subject of a criminal proceeding related to the covered information. That is not a blanket right to deny every criminal record in every setting.
However, certain people can access your records, such as:
- Law enforcement agencies
- Criminal justice agencies
- Licensing agencies
- Certain government agencies
Eligibility for sealing your record is a bit wider than expungement.
If you’re confused about whether you’re eligible for expungement or sealing records or neither of them, consult your situation with a criminal defense attorney. We can review your case and determine the best option you can qualify for.
What Is the Process for Expungement?
File Your Expungement Petition
For the general district-court route, a petition may be filed in the county where you were arrested or where the offense allegedly occurred. Harris County provides electronic filing resources. Its District Clerk’s expunction FAQ identifies the Civil/Family Post Trial section at 201 Caroline Street, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77002, as a filing location. Eligible fine-only cases may also be filed in a justice court or municipal court of record; acquittal and mistaken-identity procedures differ.
The current Harris County civil fee schedule lists a $350 base filing fee for a new civil expunction case, before applicable service charges. This is a court filing fee, not the total cost of legal representation. The schedule lists $0 electronic notification and $25 certified-mail notice per agency. Current law prohibits a clerk’s electronic-transmission fee when the petition supplies the required electronic means, and provides a $25 fee for each recipient unable to receive electronic transmission. Special statutory routes and fee relief can differ.
Our typical fee is $2,000 per expunction petition, including filing fees and full representation for that petition. The $350 base filing fee is included in that typical quoted fee, not added on top. If your matter requires more than one petition, each petition is priced separately. This does not mean that every arrest necessarily requires its own petition.
You need to include the necessary information relating to your case and background in the petition, such as:
- Offense charges
- Date of occurring offense
- Date of arrest
- Name of arresting agency
- Case number
- How the charge was resolved (whether through dismissal, acquittal, or no billing by a grand jury)
- Any other relevant information, such as your name, court name, contact info, supporting documents, etc.
Be careful when filling in the above details to avoid any mistakes.
The petition must be verified and identify the required record holders, with applicable physical and email addresses, or explain missing required information. Include the agencies and other entities there is reason to believe hold covered records, including relevant federal depositories and private criminal-history companies. Do not list a state or local agency more than once or give multiple contacts for its divisions. A clerk’s agency list does not guarantee that your petition is complete.
Hearing Scheduled
For a petition under the general procedure, the court must set a hearing no earlier than the 30th day after filing. The court provides the petition and hearing notice to listed recipients other than central federal criminal-record depositories; the clerk need not send these notices to the Office of Court Administration. DPS notifies the appropriate listed federal depositories. Agencies may appear through their legal representatives. This minimum hearing period is not a promised completion date, and special expunction procedures differ.
During the hearing, you must prove to the court that all the information in the petition is correct and that you are eligible for expunction relief.
However, the prosecutor can object to your expungement and present an argument against it. After considering all the arguments, the judge will decide whether to grant you an expunction.
Expunction Order
A proposed expunction order must include the information the statute requires. The judge’s signature does not mean every agency has already processed the order. Finality, notice, and compliance with the order are separate steps.
When the expunction order is final, the clerk sends a copy to DPS’s Crime Records Service, the Office of Court Administration, and each listed Texas state or local governmental recipient. DPS handles notice to central federal criminal-record depositories, including the FBI, and to the private entities specified by statute. The petitioner is not responsible for personally sending every final order. Accurate recipient information in the petition and order remains important.
If you’re considering expungement or are going through its process already, contact us. Our experienced expungement lawyers can answer all your questions and guide you through the process to fight for a successful outcome.
Expunge Your Criminal Record With Napier Law Firm
The expungement process is tricky. You must complete it diligently and accurately or work with an experienced expungement lawyer. Otherwise, you can face consequences such as:
- Denial of expunction temporarily or permanently
- Delay in receiving expungement relief
- Waste of money and time
We have helped many people like you successfully expunge their criminal records. Call us today to schedule a free consultation and see if you qualify for expungement. If you’re facing criminal charges and need a Harris County criminal defense lawyer, our firm offers dedicated representation tailored to your situation.