This page was designed to help our clients better understand our Indiana Juvenile Expungement service. You will find answers to the questions we are most frequently asked. If your question is related to eligibility requirements please take the free online eligibility test.
Simply click on a question to see its answer:
The court may review any of the following factors when determining whether or not you are deserving of having your criminal record expunged:
(1) the best interests of the child;
(2) the age of the person during the person's contact with the juvenile court or law enforcement agency;
(3) the nature of any allegations;
(4) whether there was an informal adjustment or an adjudication;
(5) the disposition of the case;
(6) the manner in which the person participated in any court ordered or supervised services;
(7) the time during which the person has been without contact with the juvenile court or with any law enforcement agency;
(8) whether the person acquired a criminal record; and
(9) the person's current status.
(IC 31-39-8-3)
One of the factors that the court considers is the amount of time that the person has gone without contact with the juvenile court.
According to Indiana Code section 31-30-2-1, the court has jurisdiction over a delinquent child or a child in need of services until the child become 21 or the court has discharged the child at an earlier time, or until guardianship of the child is awarded to the department of corrections. Taking that into consideration, it is generally best to wait to file to have a person's juvenile record expunged once the person turns 21 when the juvenile court no longer has jurisdiction over the delinquent child.
No. You can petition to have your juvenile record sealed at any time, regardless of what you plead.
We will be glad to work with you to get a copy of your record and to review what can be done. We charge a researching fee that we will then apply to the cost of any service that you then hire us to perform.
Expungements must be filed and completed per case. Therefore, we charge per case, so the number of counts are in each case do not matter. If, however, you sign up for multiple cases, then we discount the additional cases.
Cases are denied for the following reasons: (1) an inaccuracy in the court file, (2) an inaccuracy in the application, (3) additional charges are pending, (4) the person has not yet met the required waiting period to become eligible.
You can only expunge certain cases. Typically, you have to show that the conviction was wrongful or unconstitutional. Additionally, a person can apply for a pardon through the President. We do not handle federal cases.
No, we go for you. If the court requests your presence and you are unable to attend, then we will request for your presence to be excused.
A petition for juvenile record expungement will be filed in the court that originally had jurisdiction over the delinquent child.
Typically, the case takes about six months. We base our estimates of how long a case will take on how long the average is for that service in that state. Some cases, however, can take less or more time depending on the facts of the case, whether the DA is agreeing or objecting, the age of the case, etc. We work on our case as fast as we can and assist the court and DA in anything they need to get your case heard and decided.
If your juvenile record is expunged, then the court will order all agencies in possession of the records to deliver the records to the court, where they will then be destroyed or delivered to the person that is the subject of the records. (IC 31-39-8)
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If the case is denied, we evaluate the reason for the denial and determine the best way to proceed. If we do not believe that refiling would be successful or we recommend the person wait longer to refile, then there is a money-back guarantee for certain services.
If we are unable to succeed on your case, we have a money back guarantee for certain services. Please view the pricing for details regarding the money back guarantee.
You do not have to disclose your record and can answer with confidence to any inquiry or to an application for employment that you have not been arrested or adjudicated delinquent of any case that has been expunged, unless you are utilizing your record in a civil action that may be defended utilizing the contents of the juvenile record as a defense, then the defendant may be required to disclose the existence of the record. (31-39-8)
If you have been convicted of minor offenses (including assault, dangerous driving, DUI, theft, shoplifting, unauthorized possession of firearms, possession of illegal substances, etc.) or indictable criminal offenses (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.) you may be prohibited from entrance into Canada and further action will be required to find out whether you will be allowed entrance. The Canadian government has entered into an information sharing agreement with the United States, so the Canadian government will have whatever information the United States has on file. Therefore, the first thing you should do is clear your criminal record to the fullest extent possible before submitting to a background check. The benefit of setting aside will show the Canadian government that the matter was resolved and no longer considered a conviction and improve the odds of not being denied entry to Canada or being stuck at the border for lengthy interrogation.
The Border Patrol has discretion in granting or denying Sentri passes. So, the only thing we can say for sure is that it would help; investing in record clearing before applying for a pass would be advantageous. A modest investment in getting a set aside could be the difference between having your request accepted or denied. The set aside will show that you have resolved all matters with the court.
You can vote if you are not currently imprisoned. In order to be eligible to register to vote, you must: • be a citizen of the United States, • be at least 18 years old on the day of the next general, municipal, or special election, • have lived in your precinct for at least 30 days before the next general, municipal, or special election (except for certain military voters); and • not currently be imprisoned after being convicted of a crime. https://indianavoters.in.gov/publicsite/ovr/introduction.aspx
To determine if expungement of your juvenile record will restore your right to own a firearm, please see the section of the website dedicated to firearm rights restoration.
In Indiana, you may serve on a jury if you 1) are a United States citizen, 2) are at least eighteen years of age, 3) are a resident of the summoning county, 4) are able to read, speak, and understand the English language, 5) are not suffering from a physical or mental disability that would prevent you from satisfactorily carrying out the duties of a juror, 6) are not under a guardianship appointment because of mental incapacity, 7) are not a person who has had your rights revoked due to a felony conviction, unless your rights have been restored, 8) are not a law enforcement officer if the trial is for a criminal case.
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/jury/ http://www.nacdl.org/uploadedFiles/files/resourcecenter/2012restorationproject/statenarr_in.pdf