Tennessee Expungement Law for a Shoplifting Conviction
hi everyone i live in tennessee and about 5 months ago i got caught shoplifting from wal mart. it totaled to be about $12.37. i have already been to court, i got 11/29 probation it became unsupervised after all of my fines were paid for they were about $375. now i am trying to move up into management at my job and they do a background check, they said my misdemeanor may hold me back from moving up. one of the managers told me to get it expunged and they would not be able to see my record. how long do i have to wait before it can be expunged and wo should i talk to about starting this process?
please help
thank you
Tennessee Expungement Law
As far as I know, Tennessee has no law which permits the expungement of adult criminal offenses, except within the context of pre-trial or post-verdict diversion.
Quote:
Quoting Tennessee Code Section 40-32-101. Destruction or release of records.
(a) (1) All public records of a person who has been charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, and which charge has been dismissed, or a no true bill returned by a grand jury, or a verdict of not guilty returned by a jury, and all public records of a person who was arrested and released without being charged, shall, upon petition by that person to the court having jurisdiction in such previous action, be removed and destroyed without cost to such person; however, the cost for destruction of records shall apply where the charge or warrant was dismissed in any court as a result of the successful completion of diversion program according to §§ 40-15-102 - 40-15-105; provided, that such cost for destruction shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00); provided, that the records of a person who successfully completes a diversion program pursuant to §§ 40-15-102 - 40-15-105 shall not be removed and destroyed pursuant to this section if the offense for which prosecution was suspended was a sexual offense as defined by § 40-39-102(5) [repealed]; provided, however, that when a defendant in a case has been convicted of any offense or charge, including a lesser included offense or charge, the defendant shall not be entitled to expungement of the records or charges in such case pursuant to this part.
(2) All public records of a person required to post bond under the provisions of § 38-3-109 or § 38-4-106 [repealed] shall be removed and destroyed as required by this chapter upon the expiration of any bond required, if no surety on the bond is required to fulfill the obligations of the bond.
(3) Upon petition by a defendant in the court which entered a nolle prosequi in the defendant's case, the court shall order all public records expunged.
(4) For purposes of this section, "court" includes any court exercising juvenile jurisdiction.
There is a provision for discharge / expungement following a deferred disposition by the court, although it appears to be a sentencing option:
Quote:
Quoting Tennessee Code Section 40-35-313. Probation - Conditions - Discharge - Expungement from official records.
(a) (1) (A) The court may defer further proceedings against a qualified defendant and place such defendant on probation upon such reasonable conditions as it may require without entering a judgment of guilty and with the consent of the qualified defendant. Such deferral shall be for a period of time not less than the period of the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor with which the person is charged, or not more than the period of the maximum sentence of the felony with which the person is charged. The deferral is conditioned upon the defendant paying an amount to be determined by the court of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per month as part payment of expenses incurred by the agency, department, program, group or association in supervising the defendant, and upon the defendant paying any or all additional costs of the defendant's supervision, counseling or treatment in a specified manner, based upon the defendant's ability to pay. Such payments shall be made to the clerk of the court in which proceedings against such defendant were pending, who shall send the payments to the agency, department, program, group or association responsible for the supervision of such defendant, unless such defendant is found to be indigent and without anticipated future funds with which to make such payment. The clerk of the court collecting such payment is permitted to retain five percent (5%) of the proceeds collected for the handling and receiving of such proceeds as provided in this subdivision (a)(1)(A).
Criminal Background Check
If the employer actually obtains a copy of your criminal record, it will reflect all convictions (both misdemeanors and felonies).