Do I need to disclose an criminal event to an employer if it has been expunged?

In Texas, a criminal record may be expunged if the petitioner meets certain criteria. Once a record is expunged, it can no longer be accessed by the public. The petitioner may legally deny any charges and convictions on that record.

Expungement Eligibility

An individual who was arrested or tried in Texas may seek expungement of his or her record under the following circumstances:

• the individual was tried and subsequently acquitted at original trial or a court of appeals;
• the individual was tried, convicted and subsequently pardoned;
• a felony indictment against the individual was not presented within the statutory period;
• if presented, the felony indictment was either dismissed or quashed;
• the individual was released and the charge did not result in a final conviction and is no longer pending. Also, there must be no court-ordered supervision
• the person has not been convicted of a felony during the five years preceding the arrest date

If the individual was charged with multiple counts, he or she may not seek expungement for an acquitted offense if tge individual remains subject to subsequent prosecution for any other offenses that out of the same criminal incident.

A criminal record may be an embarrassing blemish for someone seeking employment or enrollment in a school or university. Therefore a person with a criminal record should seek expungement if at all possible. If you live in Texas and have a criminal record, you may be able to get that record expunged under certain circumstances. You should talk with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to discuss a possible record expungement in Texas.