PSP V Sama

[knight0334]

An expungement is a DA's version of a pardon but they can only expunge certain things. Even after a pardon is issued the DA needs to be advised to remove it from the records. And I'm not so sure that it's 100% removed at that.

An expungement is never 100%. You cant wipe people's memories. Some offices refuse to fully expunge records. Some offices just note in the records that event/charges/conviction was expunged while leaving it intact.

And for the offices/entities that do expunge, sometimes it takes weeks to months to get done.

[GeneralRaptor2002]

The expungement law in Delaware is different. Unlike in Pennsylvania, even after receiving a pardon, a felony conviction cannot be expunged, only misdemeanors can be expunged after a pardon in Delaware. This is still better than the federal level, where there is no expungement available at all, even for non-conviction records or even charges that end in a not guilty verdict (save for first-time misdemeanor drug possession under the age of 21 where the offender is placed on something similar to ARD).

In fact, in Pennsylvania, the expungement after a pardon thing isn't even written in the law, it's from a decision by the PA Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. CS. 18 PA CS 9122 (b) only allows expungement under the following circumstances:

(b) Generally.--Criminal history record information may be expunged when:

(1) An individual who is the subject of the information reaches 70 years of age and has been free of arrest or prosecution for ten years following final release from confinement or supervision.

(2) An individual who is the subject of the information has been dead for three years.

(3) (i) An individual who is the subject of the information petitions the court for the expungement of a summary offense and has been free of arrest or prosecution for five years following the conviction for that offense.

(ii) Expungement under this paragraph shall only be permitted for a conviction of a summary offense.

DISCLAIMER. I am not a lawyer (yet).