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The Gilbert G. Garcia Law Firm,
Principal Offices in Conroe, TX.
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Art. 55.01. RIGHT TO EXPUNCTION. (a) A person who has been placed under a
custodial or noncustodial arrest for commission of either a felony or
misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest
expunged if:
(1) the person is tried for the offense for which the person was arrested
and is:
(A) acquitted by the trial court, except as provided by Subsection (c) of
this section; or
(B) convicted and subsequently pardoned; or
(2) each of the following conditions exist:
(A) an indictment or information charging the person with commission of a
felony has not been presented against the person for an offense arising out
of the transaction for which the person was arrested or, if an indictment or
information charging the person with commission of a felony was presented,
the indictment or information has been dismissed or quashed, and:
(i) the limitations period expired before the date on which a petition for
expunction was filed under Article 55.02; or
(ii) the court finds that the indictment or information was dismissed or
quashed because the person completed a pretrial intervention program
authorized under Section 76.011, Government Code, or because the presentment
had been made because of mistake, false information, or other similar reason
indicating absence of probable cause at the time of the dismissal to believe
the person committed the offense or because it was void;
(B) the person has been released and the charge, if any, has not resulted in
a final conviction and is no longer pending and there was no court ordered
community supervision under Article 42.12 for any offense other than a Class
C misdemeanor; and
(C) the person has not been convicted of a felony in the five years
preceding the date of the arrest.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2)(C), a person's conviction of a
felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest does not affect
the person's entitlement to expunction for purposes of an ex parte petition
filed on behalf of the person by the director of the Department of Public
Safety under Section 2(e), Article 55.02.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section, a district court
may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a person who has
been arrested for commission of a felony or misdemeanor under the procedure
established under Article 55.02 of this code if the person is:
(1) tried for the offense for which the person was arrested;
(2) convicted of the offense; and
(3) acquitted by the court of criminal appeals.
(c) A court may not order the expunction of records and files relating to an
arrest for an offense for which a person is subsequently acquitted, whether
by the trial court or the court of criminal appeals, if the offense for
which the person was acquitted arose out of a criminal episode, as defined
by Section 3.01, Penal Code, and the person was convicted of or remains
subject to prosecution for at least one other offense occurring during the
criminal episode.
(d) A person is entitled to have any information that identifies the person,
including the person's name, address, date of birth, driver's license
number, and social security number, contained in records and files relating
to the arrest of another person expunged if:
(1) the information identifying the person asserting the entitlement to
expunction was falsely given by the person arrested as the arrested person's
identifying information without the consent of the person asserting the
entitlement; and
(2) the only reason for the information identifying the person asserting the
entitlement being contained in the arrest records and files of the person
arrested is that the information was falsely given by the person arrested as
the arrested person's identifying information.
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