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Expungement for Assault / Family Violence

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  • 09-22-2005, 03:42 PM
    Kusanagi17
    Expungement for Assault / Family Violence
    I was arrested in 1997, in San Antonio, Texas for pushing a drunk and disorderly female away from my vehicle by her neck and face.

    After she had assaulted me, kicked me in the groin, punched me in the teeth, scratched my face, stole my car keys, etc..I called the police. While I was waiting for the police to arrive, she threw the keys at my face. She then took a brick and attacked my sportscar. She damaged my hood, broke my windshield, and even broke my headlights. I pushed her away from my car by her neck and face.

    When the police showed up, she told them I had choked her, and they arrested me. They did not even give me the option of pressing charges against her. Horrified by what was happening, she refused to press charges against me, so the officers made sure the State of Texas did.

    I plead "No Contest", per my (idiot) lawyer's advice. I was given Deferred Adjudication, probabtion, Anger Management Classes, and fines! The official charge at the time was; "Assault-Bodily Injury"..then it was changed to;"Assault-Non-Bodily Injury-MARRIED.

    I'm not sure how it appears in the court records, but I have been pulled over for speeding before, and when they run my record to check for warrants, it only comes up as a Misdemeanor Assault. In other areas of my paperwork and records I've seen, the term; "Family Violence" is mentioned.

    We were together about 2 years before this incident, and we had not really spoken until that day. I even had another girlfriend! We never lived together, we never MARRIED and never had sexual intercourse, before or after this incident!. Although this happened 8 years ago, it is ruining my life! I cannot get a job without someone throwing this in my face. I need help! I could try to get an expungement myself, but I need someone who can dig deeper than I can and knows what to look for. PLEASE HELP!

    Kusanagi17
  • 09-22-2005, 05:10 PM
    aaron
    Domestic Violence
    In many states, you can be charged with domestic violence even if the victim is a former member of your household.

    Did you fail to successfully complete probation? If you had a deferred disposition and completed probation, you don't have a conviction - so it is hard to see why this would be having such a profound impact on you.
  • 09-22-2005, 06:09 PM
    vmcmurry
    Yes, Texas is one of those states where you can be charged with family violence even though it is just an ex-girlfriend.

    Depending on your situation, you should be able to at least seal your record using an order of non-disclosure if you successfully completed deferred adjudication. If it was a Class C Misdemeanor, you may be able to expunge it if it was in JP or Municipal Court. You need to request your records from the court to find out the actual disposition of your case along with the required information that you must include in your petition to the court to seal your record. Call the court clerk for your county (you should be able to look it up on the web) and ask them for your record. You can even ask them if they have an information regarding filing a non-disclosure in your county - many times the clerks are quite helpful. Be sure to ask them if they require a hearing in order to get an "Order of Non-Disclosure" (Some counties don't which makes it a bit easier.) If you qualify to seal your record, you will have to file a petition (following certain requirements), appear at a hearing, present your evidence of why you qualify, then hopefully the judge will order your records sealed. Then the court will notify the DPS to seal your record. You will have to notify all of the private entities though that they have sold the information to (supposedly DPS is supposed to do this, but to be thorough, you need to follow up) along with similar entities that the county has sold their information to. When you talk to the clerk, you should also ask to speak to someone that an provide you a list of entities (and addresses) the county has sold their criminal database to so you can notify them once the order has been signed. If you would like assistance, I do this type of work i(I'm in Dallas) but I doubt I could appear at a hearing that is very far away. You can email me directly at vance@mcmurrymcmurry.com . I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, let me know.
  • 09-27-2005, 11:47 AM
    Kusanagi17
    REPLY TO AARON>Expungement for Assault / Family Violence
    Aaron,

    Many employers see Deferred Adjudication as another form a conviction. Some employers have an unwritten rule that there must have been 5 years since the incident, to even consider an application for employment.

    I was at an interview about 2 years ago. The question on the application was;"Have you ever been convicted of a Felony in the last 5 years?" Of course, I answered "No.", because I was not convicted, and my charge was not a Felony! The question simply did not apply to my situation. My charge was a Misdemeanor. When they turned down my application, they explained that I should have been honest, and brought it to their attention beforehand...no matter what the charge was for.

    Furthermore; I was pulled over by DPS for a broken turn signal one evening. I was on a date with a lady I had only known for about a month. When they ran my record, she overheard my past charge on the Officer's radio. She never asked about what she had heard, but treated me differently for the rest of the evening.

    THAT is one of the many reasons why it is still having a profound impact on my life. I should not have to be punished for the rest of my life because I wanted to protect my property.
  • 09-29-2005, 12:16 PM
    vmcmurry
    I agree with you. You shouldn't have to be going throug all of this trouble when the incident occurred so long ago and you have already "paid" for it. It's completely unfair that you are still paying for it! Companies just assume that if you got arrested, then you must be guilty of something and be of bad character which is very wrong. Trust me, there are many people out there that feel like you do.

    I would be willing to help you get an Order of Non-Disclosure so you won't have these problems in the future. You can then legally deny you were arrested. It is unlikely they would ever be able to see your sealed record (there are a few exceptions though.) Please feel free to call me at 972-770-3188 or email me if you would like to discuss the matter further or if you have any questions.
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