Oftentimes, people think that criminal traffic convictions will not count
toward your sealing or expunging eligibility.
However, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the agency that
approves sealing or expunging applications, will not only perform a background
check for all felony and
misdemeanor priors, but they will pull your records from all motor vehicle department
databases (nationwide) to check for convictions for criminal traffic offenses.
Now, civil traffic offenses, such as tickets for speeding, running a red
light, or failing to yield, will not count because those are not crimes.
However, the following is a list of traffic offenses that are crimes:
1)
DUI
2) Reckless Driving
3) No Valid Driver's License (NVDL)
5) Valid Driver's License Restriction (VDLR)
If you have received a
withhold of adjudication or a nolle prosse (dismissal) for any of the above charges, you will be
eligible to either expunge/seal that arrest, or seal/expunge any subsequent
arrest, provided it is not a disqualifying offense.
If you received a conviction (adjudication) for any of the above charges,
you will not be eligible to have that arrest sealed/expunged, or any subsequent
arrest sealed/expunged, even if the future arrest results in a nolle prosse
or no action. It's unfair but it's the state of the law in Florida.
If you have a conviction from any other state, you will be ineligible to
have your criminal record sealed or expunged in Florida.
This is important to know because whenever you plead no contest to a DUI
or a reduced charge of reckless driving in Florida, you are convicted.
The legislature does not permit withholds of adjudication for DUIs.
This information will help you to decide whether you should retain a
criminal defense attorney to clean your criminal record. If you know ahead of that that you are
ineligible, it will save you time and money. If you believe that you are
eligible to have your criminal record cleaned,
call me so that we may discuss the matter further.
I represent clients in sealing and expungement matters in the Miami-Dade
and Broward courts. However, I handle sealing and expungement matters
in Palm Beach County, as well as Monroe County.