Expunction / Non-Disclosure

Montgomery County, Texas Expunction / Non-Disclosure Attorney

Expunction / Non-Disclosure Lawyer in Conroe, The Woodlands and the Surrounding Areas of Montgomery County

Being arrested for or accused of a crime in your past can cause you serious problems in your life. Employers, schools, lenders, apartment landlords and others conduct criminal background checks. The results of these checks can have severe consequences for you causing you to lose out on a job, higher education or loans.

You need to protect yourself from these consequences and the way to do this is through a petition for expunction or non-disclosure. These are two different, but related, processes. An order of expunction actually removes the records of your arrest. An order of non-disclosure seals these records from nearly all of the public realm.

Are you Eligible for an Expunction in Texas?

You are eligible to have your records expunged and the records of your criminal charges and arrests deleted if:

1. The charges against you were dismissed
2. The charges were refused by the prosecutor’s office
3. You were found “not guilty” at trial
4. You were found “guilty” at trial but your conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
5. You were found “guilty” at trial but pardoned by the Governor
6. You received a deferred disposition for a Class C misdemeanor offense

It’s unfortunate but true that agencies such as future employers and lenders use evidence of an arrest against you even if the charges against you were dismissed. This is why obtaining a criminal expunction is so important to your future.

Are you Eligible for a Non-Disclosure in Texas?

If you were placed on a deferred adjudication for an offense and successfully completed it you are eligible to receive an order of non-disclosure. This is true even if the offense was a felony.

For most misdemeanor crimes you are eligible for a non-disclosure immediately upon completing your deferred adjudication. For felonies and select misdemeanors there is a waiting period before the petition for non-disclosure can be filed. It is important to note that you cannot receive a deferred, a probation, or a straight conviction during this waiting period or it makes you ineligible for a non-disclosure.

If you meet the requirements and the judges signs the order for non-disclosure any public agency that compiles this type of information is prohibited from releasing your public information.

If you are looking for an expunction/non-disclosure lawyer in Montgomery County, contact the Law Office of Chris Allen and Bill Pattillo. We serve clients throughout Montgomery County, including Conroe, The Woodlands, Willis, Magnolia, New Caney and all areas of the county.