![]() ![]() Undoubtedly, the State attorneys will argue in opposition, making an experienced expungement attorney necessary to best fight for you. You should be sure to hire a Minnesota expungement attorney to help guide you through the process and prepare your best arguments. If you have a criminal record that was resolved via a stay of imposition, you have a strong argument that your record is eligible for a statutory expungement as a misdemeanor conviction. The bottom line – expunging stay of imposition records is more viable now than before. The other benefit to the record being considered a misdemeanor is that the waiting period shrinks from five- to two-years. This is why the Ramsey County Court was able to expunge a 3 rd Degree Drug Sales record, which would have been ineligible if it were considered a felony. To wit, the limitation on what felony records are eligible would no longer apply when the record is analyzed as a misdemeanor because all misdemeanors are eligible for a statutory expungement. If the Court of Appeals rules in favor of this analysis, it will make many more records eligible for an expungement. ![]() Importantly, it is well-reasoned and will hopefully serve as guidance for the Court of Appeals when it decides the pending case. The Court’s analysis is much more detailed and nuanced. The “received a stayed sentence for” language is inapplicable because no sentence was ever imposed pursuant to the stay of imposition agreement.The “was convicted of” language refers to what the record is considered at the time of the filing of the petition – i.e.The following expungement statutory language is not ambiguous: “petitioner was convicted of or received a stayed sentence for a ….”.When ruling that a 3 rd Degree Drug Sales record may be expunged, the Ramsey County Court held the following: Why is arrest information reported State law says that law enforcement agencies in the state have to report felony and gross misdemeanor arrests for juveniles and adults. Though, a recent Ramsey County decision goes to great lengths in concluding and explaining that a felony that is converted to a misdemeanor by operation of the stay of imposition agreement shall be considered a misdemeanor for expungement purposes. Minnesota criminal records can include information on all arrests, charges, and convictions. To date, district courts have yet to find a consistent answer. The Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear a case in mid-January that focuses on this very issue. The question the courts will have to answer: is the conviction considered a felony (which the petitioner was originally charged and pled guilty to) or a misdemeanor (as the conviction is now deemed by operation of law)? Courts have answered this question both ways depending on the applicable statute in play. The biggest ambiguity in the new expungement law is how courts will treat stay of imposition records. ![]()
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