CAN I HAVE A DWI EXPUNGED FROM MY RECORD IN MISSOURI
Yes…According to the Missouri DWI Expungement Statute, drivers convicted of a first time DWI in Missouri can expunge that DWI from their record after a period of 10 years has elapsed since pleading guilty or being convicted of a first offense alcohol-related driving offense, the alcohol-related offense was a misdemeanor or a county or city ordinance violation, and there have been no convictions of any other alcohol-related driving offense since the first offense, in Missouri or any other State.
WHAT DOES DWI EXPUNGEMENT MEAN
According to Missouri DWI Statute, an expungement of a first offense DWI in Missouri means that you will be restored to the status you occupied before such arrest, plea or conviction and as if such event had never taken place. So, in other words, the result, if you qualify, will be as if it didn’t happen. Your criminal and driving records can be wiped clean.
A DWI is an embarrassing event that can affect your entire life. Joining the military, becoming a law enforcement officer, obtaining professional licenses, and even getting into college could be denied when a criminal background check is performed.
A DWI can also keep you from traveling abroad, and from obtaining loans
If your DWI has been expunged, you are not required to report it and it will no longer appear on criminal background checks.
In fact, if you receive a DWI after your first offense was expunged, the new DWI will appear as a first offense.
As you can see, expunging a DWI from your Missouri record is a chance to start fresh and place yourself in a position to obtain a career or take advantage of other opportunities which had previously been denied.
WHAT IS A FIRST OFFENSE DWI IN MISSOURI
According to the Missouri DWI Statute, section 577.010 states that a person commits the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI) if he or she operates a vehicle while in an intoxicated condition. An intoxicated condition is when a person is under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or drug, or any combination thereof. The legal alcohol limit is eight-hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in his or her blood.
The following charges will prohibit you from applying for expungement:
If you have already pleaded guilty to a first offense DWI and you receive a second DWI within five (5) years of that guilty plea, you may be charged as a DWI Prior Offender. In that case, the DWI charge would be class A misdemeanor but you will not qualify for expungement.
If you have already pleaded guilty to a first offense DWI and you receive a second DWI more than five (5) years from that guilty plea, your charge may appear as a first offense; however, you will no longer qualify for expungement.
Class E Felony: Those charged with DWI after their second conviction, known as “persistent offenders” and those determined to have acted with criminal negligence while causing physical injury to another person.
Class D Felony: “Aggravated offenders” with a Class D misdemeanor for causing injury to police officer or emergency personnel, or for causing “serious physical injury” to anyone. An aggravated offender is someone who has pleaded guilty to or who has “been found guilty of three or more intoxication-related traffic offenses.”
Class C Felony: A “chronic offender” (someone who has been convicted of four or more intoxication-related traffic offenses), will face Class C Felony charges if they also cause “serious physical injury to a law enforcement officer or emergency personnel” or “cause the death of another person.”
Class B Felony: These are charges against “habitual offenders” (people who have been convicted of five or more separate intoxication-related traffic offenses). A Class B Felony is also charged against people who cause the death of law enforcement or emergency personnel while driving while intoxicated.
Class A Felony: A habitual offender that causes the death of someone not in their vehicle, if they cause the death of two or more people, or if they had a BAC of 0.18 or higher while causing the death of any person.
HOW LONG DOES A DWI STAY ON YOUR MISSOURI RECORD
Unless you take legal action to expunge your record, a DWI remains on your record indefinitely. So, in other words, for the rest of your life.
In order to be eligible for expungement, you must wait a period of ten (10) years from the date you pleaded guilty or were convicted of a first offense DWI and is only available to eligible persons once in a lifetime.
Ten (10) years is a long time to wait but once that time has passed, take action to get this mistake off of your record.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS TO EXPUNGE A MISSOURI DWI
- File a petition for expungement. The petition must be made to the court where you pleaded guilty or were sentenced. The fee to file the petition is two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
- The Missouri Department of Revenue must be included as a party to your application so your driving record can be expunged as well as your criminal record.
- Have a hearing. You may have to be sworn to testify so the Judge can determine whether you eligible for expungement. The court will then enter an order of expungement.
A qualified attorney can help you through the legal issues. Although, initially, it may seem to be an expensive and time-consuming process, the payoff is a life free of past mistakes that are keeping you from the future you deserve.
MISSOURI DWI EXPUNGEMENT STATUTE
In case you want to review the entire statue, I’ve included it below.
2015 Missouri Revised Statutes
TITLE XXXIX CONDUCT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS (610)
Chapter 610 Governmental Bodies and Records
Section 610.130 Beginning January 1, 2017–Alcohol-related driving offenses, expunged from records, when–procedures, effect–limitations.
Universal Citation: MO Rev Stat § 610.130 (2015)
610.130. 1. After a period of not less than ten years, an individual who has pleaded guilty or has been convicted for a first intoxication-related traffic offense or intoxication-related boating offense which is a misdemeanor or a county or city ordinance violation and which is not a conviction for driving a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and who since such date has not been convicted of any intoxication-related traffic offense or intoxication-related boating offense may apply to the court in which he or she pled guilty or was sentenced for an order to expunge from all official records all recordation’s of his or her arrest, plea, trial or conviction.
- If the court determines, after hearing, that such person has not been convicted of any subsequent intoxication-related traffic offense or intoxication-related boating offense, has no other subsequent alcohol-related enforcement contacts as defined in section 302.525, and has no other intoxication-related traffic offense or intoxication-related boating offenses or alcohol-related enforcement actions pending at the time of the hearing on the application, the court shall enter an order of expungement.
- Upon granting of the order of expungement, the records and files maintained in any administrative or court proceeding in an associate or circuit division of the circuit court under this section shall be confidential and only available to the parties or by order of the court for good cause shown. The effect of such order shall be to restore such person to the status he or she occupied prior to such arrest, plea or conviction and as if such event had never taken place. No person as to whom such order has been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his or her failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, plea, trial, conviction or expungement in response to any inquiry made of him or her for any purpose whatsoever and no such inquiry shall be made for information relating to an expungement under this section. A person shall only be entitled to one expungement pursuant to this section. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the director from maintaining such records as to ensure that an individual receives only one expungement pursuant to this section for the purpose of informing the proper authorities of the contents of any record maintained pursuant to this section.
- The provisions of this section shall not apply to any individual who has been issued a commercial driver’s license or is required to possess a commercial driver’s license issued by this state or any other state.
(L. 1989 1st Ex. Sess. H.B. 3 § 2, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1233, et al., A.L. 2005 S.B. 422, A.L. 2010 H.B. 1695, et al., A.L. 2014 S.B. 491)
Transferred 2014; formerly 577.054; Effective 1-01-17
(2009) Section authorizes courts to expunge all records of a driver’s administrative alcohol suspension and to make those records confidential. S.S. v. Mitchell, 289 S.W.3d 797 (Mo.App. E.D.).
CONCLUSION
Missouri DWI expungement laws grant someone that has pleaded guilty to a first offense DWI a chance to have it removed from both their criminal and Department of Revenue records. If you meet the criteria for expungement, an application must be made in the jurisdiction that received the guilty plea and prove that you have not been convicted of any alcohol-related driving offense in the ten years before the date of the application for expungement. This is a one-time opportunity. Tank advantage of it with an experienced DWI expungement attorney.
CONTACT A HANNIBAL, MISSOURI DWI EXPUNGEMENT ATTORNEY TODAY
Take advantage of our knowledge and our free case evaluation. We will educate you on the Missouri DWI expungement law, answer your questions, and prepare your petition. Call (573)769-6155 for a free, initial consultation or click here.