- 1). Determine whether you qualify under the limited D.C. laws pertaining to expungement. Only get two types of arrests can be expunged: first-time misdemeanor drug charges and child kidnapping. If your arrest was for misdemeanor drug possession, you cannot have been charged with anything else at the time of the arrest, and you cannot have been adjudged guilty (although the court could have put you on probation, so long as you completed it perfectly). For child kidnapping charges, you must have been convicted pursuant to a child custody or visitation dispute. If it was your own child, your youngest child must be 18, and if it was someone else's child, it must have been five years since the conviction, and the child must be 18.
- 2). Decide whether the court's expungement is discretionary or mandatory. If you qualify under the first-time-misdemeanor provision, then you have a right to expungement of the arrest under the law. If you qualify for expungement under the kidnapping provision, whether the court expunges your arrest or conviction is discretionary, meaning you can't it to be done.
- 3). Retain a lawyer. You can either hire a private attorney or contact the Public Defender Service at 202-628-1200. You may also try the D.C. Employment Justice Center at 202-828-WORK (9675). Although you are not required to be represented by an attorney, expungement (particularly of a kidnapping conviction) is not the most straightforward matter, and the likelihood of success will be greatly improved if you hire counsel.
- 4). Create and file a motion to expunge. If you qualify under the misdemeanor drug possession provision, your probation officer should have given you a form motion to expunge when you were discharged from probation. If you do not have this form or if you qualify under the kidnapping provision, use one of the forms provided in Resource 1. Serve a copy of your filed motion on the prosecutor. If you have retained an attorney, she will take care of this step for you.
- 5). Attend the hearing set by the court, if any. If your misdemeanor drug charges were dismissed and you otherwise qualify, then the prosecutor must oppose your motion, otherwise it may be granted by the court without a hearing. If you are trying to expunge a kidnapping conviction, the court will schedule a hearing if desired, and your attorney will attend with you if you have retained one.
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