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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Can I Expunge a Minnesota Felony Theft Conviction?

Yes, you can file a petition in Minnesota to expunge a felony theft conviction from your record. The court has the "inherent authority" to grant the expungement petition. You will need to prove to the court at a hearing that the benefit of sealing your criminal record outweighs the detriment to society in not knowing about your criminal past. If you can meet this burden of proof, the court can use its inherent authority to grant the petition and seal the courthouse file. Since the case resulted in a conviction and was not resolved in your favor, the court does not have the authority to order the executive branch of government to seal their records. This means that the expungement order will have no effect on sealing the record of conviction maintained by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, police reports, or the files kept by the prosecuting authority. If your case had been resolved in your favor by an acquittal, for example, or by a continuance for dismissal, the court could exercise its statutory authority and seal all the records concerning the case, including records maintained by the BCA, the police department, and the prosecuting attorney.

If you, or someone you know, is considering filing in Minnesota for an expungement of a criminal conviction, you will need to retain an experienced expungement attorney. Call attorney Robert J. Shane for a free phone consultation at (612) 339-1024 or visit hs website for more information on expungements at www.criminallawyerminnesota.com.

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