A felony conviction will have a tremendous impact on your life. Convicted felons lose the right to vote, hold public office, and serve on a jury. Additionally, felons may lose the right to own or possess firearms. Some felonies will have a greater impact than others, and some may be eligible for a felony expungement process. According to the American Bar Association, an expungement is “the process by which a record of a criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from state or federal record.” An expungement is not a pardon. A pardon is forgiveness for the offense, and an expungement seals the criminal record.

Each state is responsible for creating laws about which types of crimes are eligible for expungement as well as how the felony expungement process works in that state. Some states limit expungement to minors, and some allow adults to petition for expungement as well.

Once a person is past the required time since the conviction or diversion, or was released from probation, community correctional services program, parole, post-release supervision, conditional release or a suspended sentence, they may be eligible for expungement.

Types of Offenses Eligible for Expungement

In Kansas, there are rules about which convictions and diversions are eligible for expungement. The felony expungement process cannot be started until one, three, five, seven or ten years past the conviction, depending on the crime. Below are some offenses that could be eligible for the felony expungement process.

• Traffic or tobacco infractions
• Misdemeanors
• Property Crimes
• Low-Level Felonies
• Some drug offenses
• Vehicular homicide
• Perjury
• Failure to stop at an accident
• Failure to have motor vehicle insurance
• Prostitution (certain restrictions apply)
• DUI convictions

Ineligible Offenses

Some crimes are ineligible for expungement by statute. Retain an experienced defense attorney to help navigate your rights. Call Koop Law Firm for criminal expungement in the State of Kansas. Below is a list of ineligible offenses in Kansas.

• Rape
• Indecent liberties with a child or aggravated indecent liberties with a child
• Criminal sodomy or aggravated criminal sodomy
• Indecent solicitation of a child or aggravated indecent solicitation of a child
• Sexual exploitation of a child
• Internet trading in child pornography or aggravated Internet trading in child pornography
• Aggravated incest
• Endangering a child or aggravated endangering a child
• Abuse of a child
• Capital murder, murder in the first, or second degree, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter when driving under the influence
• Sexual battery on a person under age 18 or aggravated sexual battery
• Driving a commercial vehicle under the influence
• In addition, any offender who is still required to register on the Kansas offender registry is not eligible for expungement.

People who may have been eligible for expungement may be ineligible if they have been convicted of a subsequent felony or are facing current charges. In addition, the behavior of the petitioner can make them ineligible for expungement. The court may also determine that expungement is not in the best interest of the public including if the petitioner is deemed a threat to the public if their right to own a firearm is restored.

Need an Attorney?

If you’ve been convicted of a crime, you need aggressive representation to guide you through the expungement process. Contact Jeremy D. Koop to represent you when seeking an expungement.

The information provided in this article does not constitute legal advice; it is for general informational purposes only.