Expunging a Juvenile Record in Florida

Miami FL

04 January, 2021

3:01 PM

Description

Most people don’t realize that a juvenile criminal record will appear in a criminal background check in Florida, unless you take action in order to expunge your record. In Florida, there are several statutory options available for juvenile offenders who wish to remove their criminal records from their history. Governed by specific Florida statutes, each path to expungement has specific eligibility requirements, and being eligible to expunge your record under one option doesn’t necessarily mean you will be able to do so under another option. In addition, pursuing the wrong statute to expunge your juvenile criminal record could lock you out of the possibility of being able to do so under a future criminal case, so you will definitely want to make sure you speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney before making a decision regarding which avenue you would like to pursue. Below, we review some of the statutory paths available to juvenile delinquents looking to expunge their criminal records. Administrative Expungement Under Florida Statute 943.0581, a juvenile may petition for the administrative expunction of their non-judicial record if it can be shown that the record was created thanks to an arrest that was made in error or by mistake. There are no limitations as to how many times a case can be expunged under this statute, but being granted expungement under this provision is extremely rare. Automatic Expungement Under Florida Statute 943.0515, juvenile records are automatically expunged on the offender’s 24th birthday whenever the case resulted in a dismissal or withholding of adjudication. That means that these records would no longer appear on your record in a background check if the judge either dismissed your case or refused to adjudicate whether you were innocent or guilty in the case. Bear in mind, however, that this option won’t be available to anyone who commits a forcible felony between their juvenile record and their 24th birthday - so unless you’ve cleaned up your act, you won’t be able to take advantage of this route to expunging your criminal record. Court-Ordered Expungement Florida Statute 943.0585 allows a juvenile to petition the court to seal or expunge their juvenile record in a single criminal case, so long as you were not adjudicated guilty, and are not currently serving probation or any other court-ordered supervision. However, you are not allowed to use this statutory provision more than once in your life - so it’s always advisable that you try another route before going with this one. Diversion Program Expungement A juvenile may petition the court to expunge the nonjudicial arrest record of a minor who successfully completed a pre- or post-arrest diversion program for a non-violent misdemeanor offense so long as they initiate the expungement within 12 months of the completion of the program. The big advantage for pursuing this avenue under Florida Statute 943.0582 is that you are able to seek expungement under this statute as many times as you wish, so long as your juvenile misdemeanor offenses are followed by a diversion program and initiated within 12 months.