Right to Expunction

• The provisions for expungement laws in Texas are contained in Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 55.01 states that a person who has been arrested for the commission of either a misdemeanor or a felony has the right to have all the records relating to that arrest expunged. An expunction means that all records stemming from that arrest including criminal history record, arrest record and court records will be deleted from public record.
  
  

Conditions for Expunction

• Under Texas law, a person is only qualified to apply to have his criminal records expunged under some conditions. The person must have been tried and either acquitted by a trial court or convicted and subsequently pardoned. The court may have also dismissed the indictment because such a person successfully completed a pretrial intervention. Another condition is that the statute of limitations for the offense has expired. Also, the expungemnet petitioner must not have been convicted of a felony within five years before the arrest that he is seeking to have expunged from public records.
  
  

Identifying Information

• Under Texas law, anyone who did not commit a crime, but was identified in the record of another person who did, has a right to have such identifying information expunged. For instance, if a person is arrested for armed robbery and mentions another person as an accomplice during interrogation, such a person may have any information identifying him or associating him with the armed robbery expunged if it is later discovered that the offender has given false information. The law mentions such identifying information to include things like social security number, address, driver's license number, name and date of birth. All of the information relating to the falsely accused accomplice must be expunged from the record of the offender, severing any link between him and the innocent party in relation to the offense.
  
  

Deceased Person

• Under Texas law, the close relative of someone who is deceased has the right to apply for expungement of the deceased relative's criminal record if such a person was entitled to the expungement. The law mentions who "close relatives" are. They include the adult sister, child, brother, grandparent or spouse of the deceased person. Upon application by such a close relative, the court is bound by the law to enter an order of expunction.