The Law Offices of Matt Horak
In the state of Texas, once a person is charged with or arrested for a criminal offense, that arrest or charge will remain on his or her criminal record indefinitely. Having an arrest or charge on a criminal record can be extremely damaging as criminal records are viewable by the general public. This means that when people try to apply for jobs, housing, bank loans or for school, people will be able to see that they have been in trouble with the law if they conduct a background check.
Thankfully, people who have made mistakes may leave their pasts behind them through the process of expunction or record sealing. In Texas, people can expunge their arrests if the arrest did not lead to a finding of guilt. Additionally, people can expunge or seal class C misdemeanors if they received deferred adjudication or completed the terms of their sentence. After a person’s record has been sealed or expunged, the general public will no longer be able to see that he or she was charged or arrested by law enforcement.