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  1. #1
    pleaseadvice Guest

    Default Sealing the Arrest in Washington State

    How can I seal the arrest record in Washington State? I was plea not guilty, but I was asked to do the community service and paid the fine to the court. I know the conviction won't show up on my background check but arrest will.
    The arrest was total misundertanding. I didn' fight the case because I was not experienced and my lawyer told me not to take it to the trail. But now I realize I should have proved that my arrest was a total mistake and misunderstanding. It was in August of 2006. Can I do something about it now?
    Can I write to the governer? Or can I appeal the case? Please advice.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    doesn't make any difference as to what your plea entered was. What was the finding of the court?

  3. #3
    pleaseadvice Guest

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    I am not sure I understand your question. It was misdemeanor. I was plea not guity. It was a violation of Seattle Municipal Code, Section 12A.08.060 (a) (1)-1, a misdemeanor. The maximum penalty for the crime is one year in jail of a $ 5,000 fine. I was not plead guilty. I was given a pretrial diversion agreement. I was to perform 24 hours of community service and pay $ 75 to the court. Upon the completion all charges against me were dismissed. I was dismissed with Prejudice. I was not convicted of offence. But my arrest was a mistake. I have not committed a crime. I just didn't fight it at the court because my lawyer adviced me not to take it to the trail. Is there anything I can do now? Can I write the whole story to the governer or appeal my arrest to the court? My understanding is that though I was plea not guilty my arrest still show up. I want to prove that I was arrested by mistake. Is it too late to do now? What are my options?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    well without a lot of research to back me up, I am going to make a bit of a generalized statement.

    Most courts will not accept a plea of not guilty if you are allowed to enter into a deferred/withheld adjudication. You would need to have entered a plea of nolo contendre or guilty, typically.

    some states consider a deferred adjudication as a conviction for certain situations.

    Typically part of a deferred adjudication is your agreeement to give up any rights to appeal.

    from: http://research.lawyers.com/Washingt...ton-State.html



    In Washington, under some circumstances, you may be able to have a criminal record expunged, which means that the records are sealed or destroyed and can only be obtained in limited circumstances, such as a future criminal prosecution.
    You may be eligible for expungement if:
    • You have completed your sentence, and
    • You were convicted of a nonviolent offense, and
    • You have spent a specific amount of time (from two to 10 years, depending on the seriousness of the offense) in the community without any criminal convictions.

    If you qualify, you may file a motion with the court to vacate your conviction. If the court grants the motion, the record of your conviction will be vacated, sealed, or destroyed. If you are arrested but not convicted, you may ask the Washington State Patrol to expunge your arrest records. Also, a person who has a juvenile record and is now at least 18 may be able to ask the court to destroy or seal the records.
    depending upon how Washington looks as a deferred adjudication would make a difference as to your possibility of having your arrest expunged. I suppose if you apply to the Washington State Patrol, you would get your answer.

    here is the website for the Washington State Patrol. I would suggest contacting them to persue this further.

    http://www.wsp.wa.gov/

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
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    28,906

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    According to the Clark County website:
    Quote Quoting Destruction of Records
    A person 18 years of age or older whose criminal history consists of only one referral or diversion may request that the court order the records in that case destroyed. The request shall be granted if the court finds that two years have elapsed since completion of the Diversion Agreement. Except that no identifying information held by the Washington State Patrol is subject to destruction.

  6. #6
    pleaseadvice Guest

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    Thank you so much for getting back to me. I appreciate that. do I still have to wait two years in order to expunge the arrest record? Since there were no charges or convictions?

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Michigan
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    28,906

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    You say you completed a diversion program. The statutory language seems pretty clear that it applies to a person who has completed a diversion program.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    If you read your own post Aaron, the last line states

    "Except that no identifying information held by the Washington State Patrol is subject to destruction.".
    From that statement, I would believe that the arrest record would not be eligible for expungement if there had been a deferred adjudication.

    Now, in addition to stating there was no conviction, OP claims there were no charges. I don;t get it. It simply sounds as if there was a deferred adjudication so that means there were charges filed. As well, from what I have been learning, some states do consider a deferred adjudication to be a conviction for some purposes.

    The OP is after expunging the arrest record.

    That is why I had posted the info I had and the link to the Washington State Patrol. The, apparently are in charge of the arrest records for the state. The worst that would happen is the record would not expunged if not eligable.

  9. #9
    pleaseadvice Guest

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    My case says:

    Disposition: DM (which I think is misdemeanor, please correct me if I am wrong)
    Dismissal Reason: ADW (meaning adjudication withheld)

    Does that mean deferred adjudication? What does deferred adjudication mean? Is it the same as adjudication withheld? Sorry to be so ignorent.

    Where on the web I can check if I am iligible or not for the arrest expungment?

    Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Sealing the arrest in Washington State

    an adjudication withheld and a deferred adjudication are basically the same thing. Different states call it different things.

    like I said, from what I have seen, it is up to the state patrol (state police?) to expunge the arrest if it is possible. Since you do have an adjudication withheld, it is not clear to me whether you can have the arrest record expunged or not.

    from Aaron's post, I suspect you will not be able to have the arrest expunged. His quote did say that:
    Except that no identifying information held by the Washington State Patrol is subject to destruction.
    I posted the state patrol web link. I would think those folks would be able to give you an absolute answer. Those are the foks you would have to contact to have your arrest record cleared anyway.

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