John Doe v. State of Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma lawyer Kent Morlan represents people seeking to expunge court records. If believe that you are eligible for an order of expungement, give Kent a call at 918-582-5544 to find out if you are eligible for an expungement.



Title 22 O.S. Section 18 - Expungement of Records provides:



A. Persons authorized to file a motion for expungement, as provided herein, must be within one of the following categories:



1. The person has been acquitted;



2. The conviction was reversed with instructions to dismiss by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, or an appellate court of competent jurisdiction reversed the conviction and the prosecuting agency subsequently dismissed the charge;



3. The factual innocence of the person was established by the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence subsequent to conviction, including a person who has been released from prison at the time innocence was established;



4. The person has received a full pardon by the Governor for the crime for which the person was sentenced;



5. The person was arrested and no charges of any type, including charges for an offense different than that for which the person was originally arrested, are filed and the statute of limitations has expired or the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges;



6. The person was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time the offense was committed and the person has received a full pardon for the offense;



7. The person was charged with one or more misdemeanor or felony crimes, all charges have been dismissed, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and the statute of limitations for refiling the charge or charges has expired or the prosecuting agency confirms that the charge or charges will not be refiled; provided, however, this category shall not apply to charges that have been dismissed following the completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence;



8. The person was charged with a misdemeanor, the charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and at least one (1) year has passed since the charge was dismissed;



9. The person was charged with a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the charge was dismissed;



10. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the person was sentenced to a fine of less than Five Hundred One Dollars ($501.00) without a term of imprisonment or a suspended sentence, the fine has been paid or satisfied by time served in lieu of the fine, the person has not been convicted of a felony and no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person;



11. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the person was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, a suspended sentence or a fine in an amount greater than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), the person has not been convicted of a felony, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the end of the last misdemeanor sentence;



12. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the person has not been convicted of any other felony, the person has not been convicted of a separate misdemeanor in the last seven (7) years, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the completion of the sentence for the felony conviction;



13. The person was convicted of not more than two felony offenses, none of which is a felony offense listed in Section 13.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any offense that would require the person to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the completion of the sentence for the felony conviction;



14. The person was charged with not more than two felony offenses and the charges were dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, none of which were felony offenses listed in Section 13.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or would require the person to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the charges were dismissed;



15. The person has been charged or arrested or is the subject of an arrest warrant for a crime that was committed by another person who has appropriated or used the person's name or other identification without the person's consent or authorization; or



16. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes which was subsequently reclassified as a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law, the person is not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state or another state, at least thirty (30) days have passed since the completion or commutation of the sentence for the crime that was reclassified as a misdemeanor, any restitution ordered by the court to be paid by the person has been satisfied in full, and any treatment program ordered by the court has been successfully completed by the person, including any person who failed a treatment program which resulted in an accelerated or revoked sentence that has since been successfully completed by the person or the person can show successful completion of a treatment program at a later date. Persons seeking an expungement of records under the provisions of this paragraph may utilize the expungement forms provided in Section 18a of this title.



B. For purposes of Section 18 et seq. of this title, "expungement” shall mean the sealing of criminal records, as well as any public civil record, involving actions brought by and against the State of Oklahoma arising from the same arrest, transaction or occurrence.



C. Beginning three (3) years after the effective date of this act and subject to the availability of funds, individuals with clean slate eligible cases shall be eligible to have their criminal records sealed automatically. For purposes of Section 18 et seq. of this title, "clean slate eligible case” shall mean a case where each charge within the case is pursuant to paragraph 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, or 16 of subsection A of this section.



D. For purposes of seeking an expungement under the provisions of paragraph 10, 11, 12 or 13 of subsection A of this section, offenses arising out of the same transaction or occurrence shall be treated as one conviction and offense.



E. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of subsection A of this section shall be sealed to the public but not to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of subsection A of this section shall be admissible in any subsequent criminal prosecution to prove the existence of a prior conviction or prior deferred judgment without the necessity of a court order requesting the unsealing of the records. Records expunged pursuant to paragraph 4 or 6 of subsection A of this section may also include the sealing of Pardon and Parole Board records related to an application for a pardon. Such records shall be sealed to the public but not to the Pardon and Parole Board.



Version 2 (Amended by Laws 2022, HB 3316, c. 143, § 1, eff. November 1, 2022; Amended by Laws 2024, SB 1770, c. 259, § 1, eff. November 1, 2024)



A. Persons authorized to file a motion for expungement, as provided herein, must be within one of the following categories:



1. The person has been acquitted;



2. The conviction was reversed with instructions to dismiss by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, or an appellate court of competent jurisdiction reversed the conviction and the prosecuting agency subsequently dismissed the charge;



3. The factual innocence of the person was established by the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence subsequent to conviction, including a person who has been released from prison at the time innocence was established;



4. The person has received a full pardon by the Governor for the crime for which the person was sentenced;



5. The person was arrested and no charges of any type, including charges for an offense different than that for which the person was originally arrested, are filed and the statute of limitations has expired or the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges;



6. The person was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time the offense was committed and the person has received a full pardon for the offense;



7. The person was charged with one or more misdemeanor or felony crimes, all charges have been dismissed, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and the statute of limitations for refiling the charge or charges has expired or the prosecuting agency confirms that the charge or charges will not be refiled; provided, however, this category shall not apply to charges that have been dismissed following the completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence;



8. The person was charged with a misdemeanor, the charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and at least one (1) year has passed since the charge was dismissed;



9. The person was charged with a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, the person has never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the charge was dismissed;



10. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the person was sentenced to a fine less than Five Hundred One Dollars ($501.00) without a term of imprisonment or a suspended sentence, the fine has been paid or satisfied by time served in lieu of the fine, the person has not been convicted of a felony and no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person;



11. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the person was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, a suspended sentence or a fine in an amount greater than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), the person has not been convicted of a felony, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the end of the last misdemeanor sentence;



12. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the person has not been convicted of any other felony, the person has not been convicted of a separate misdemeanor in the last seven (7) years, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the completion of the sentence for the felony conviction;



13. The person was convicted of not more than two felony offenses, none of which is a felony offense listed in Section 13.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any offense that would require the person to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed since the completion of the sentence for the felony conviction;



14. The person has been charged or arrested or is the subject of an arrest warrant for a crime that was committed by another person who has appropriated or used the person's name or other identification without the person's consent or authorization; or



15. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes which was subsequently reclassified as a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law, the person is not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state or another state, at least thirty (30) days have passed since the completion or commutation of the sentence for the crime that was reclassified as a misdemeanor, any restitution ordered by the court to be paid by the person has been satisfied in full, and any treatment program ordered by the court has been successfully completed by the person, including any person who failed a treatment program which resulted in an accelerated or revoked sentence that has since been successfully completed by the person or the person can show successful completion of a treatment program at a later date. Persons seeking an expungement of records under the provisions of this paragraph may utilize the expungement forms provided in Section 18a of this title.



B. For purposes of Section 18 et seq. of this title:



1. "Expungement” means the sealing of criminal records, as well as any public civil record, involving actions brought by and against the State of Oklahoma arising from the same arrest, transaction or occurrence. A fully sealed expunged record shall not be available to the public or to law enforcement. Such records may be retained in the state criminal history repository but shall only be accessible to designated employees of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for research and statistical purposes. A partially sealed expunged record shall not be available to the public but shall be available to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes; and



2. "Single-source record” means a criminal history record from this state that consists of an Oklahoma arrest record only. A single-source record shall not contain any arrest from another state, a federal arrest, or an entry into the National Sex Offender Registry or a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) wanted/warrant entry.



C. Beginning three (3) years after November 1, 2022, and subject to the availability of funds, individuals with clean slate eligible arrest records shall be eligible to have their arrest records sealed automatically. For purposes of Section 18 et seq. of this title, "clean slate eligible arrest record” shall mean an arrest record where each charge within the record meets one of the following criteria:



1. Records described in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14 or 15 of subsection A of this section;



2. Records described in paragraph 7 of subsection A of this section where the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges and the record is an Oklahoma single-source record; or



3. Records described in paragraph 8, 10, or 11 of subsection A of this section where the record is an Oklahoma single-source record.



D. For purposes of seeking an expungement under the provisions of paragraph 10, 11, 12 or 13 of subsection A of this section, offenses arising out of the same transaction or occurrence shall be treated as one conviction and offense.



E. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of subsection A of this section shall be partially sealed so that such records are not available to the public but remain available to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of subsection A of this section shall be admissible in any subsequent criminal prosecution to prove the existence of a prior conviction or prior deferred judgment without the necessity of a court order requesting the unsealing of the records. Records expunged pursuant to paragraph 4, 6, 12 or 13 of subsection A of this section may also include the sealing of Pardon and Parole Board records related to an application for a pardon. Such records shall be sealed to the public but not to the Pardon and Parole Board.



* * *



IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF __________________________________________COUNTY



STATE OF OKLAHOMA







______________________________,



Petitioner,



vs. Case No. ______________________

The State of Oklahoma, Respondent



THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA,



Respondent.



PETITION TO EXPUNGE RECORDS



PURSUANT TO TITLE 22 O.S. SECTIONS 18 AND 19



COMES NOW, the Petitioner and respectfully moves this Court to expunge the criminal history records of the Petitioner pursuant to paragraph 15 of subsection A of Section 18 and Section 19 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.



PETITIONER INFORMATION:







__________________________________________________________________________________



(Last name) (First name) (Middle name)



___________________________________________________________________________________



(Address)



___________________________________________________________________________________



(Phone Number)



_________________________________________________



(Date of Birth)





____________________________



(Social Security Number)



CRIMINAL CASE INFORMATION:







Name and Address of Arresting Agency:



________________________________________



________________________________________



________________________________________





Date of Arrest:



____________________________________



Name and Address of Other Agency:









(List any state or local government agency that has a record of your case.)



________________________________________ ____________________________________



________________________________________ ____________________________________



________________________________________ ____________________________________



Case Number to be Expunged:______________________________________________________



Charge to be Expunged:___________________________________________________________



* Information on your criminal case may be found at www.oscn.net.



I, the above-named Petitioner, hereby petition this Court for an expungement of criminal records pursuant to paragraph 15 of subsection A of Section 18 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes and certify as follows:



1. In this court of the county named above, I was charged and convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes;



2. That the nonviolent felony offense I was charged and convicted of has been reclassified as a misdemeanor offense under Oklahoma law;



3. That I am not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state or another state;



4. At least thirty (30) days have passed since either the completion of my sentence or the commutation of my sentence for the crime that was reclassified as a misdemeanor;



5. That all restitution (if any) ordered by the court to be paid by me in this case has been satisfied in full;



6. That I have successfully completed any and all treatment program(s) ordered by the court, successfully completed an accelerated or revoked sentence or successfully completed a treatment program at a later date; and



7. That the harm to the Petitioner's privacy or danger of unwarranted adverse consequences outweighs the public's interest in retaining said records.



I declare under penalty of perjury that the statements made herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.

____________________________ _____________________________



Date Signature of Petitioner



Name (Print):__________________



IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ____________________________________COUNTY



STATE OF OKLAHOMA







__________________________,



Petitioner,





vs. Case No. __________________________



THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA,



Respondent.



ORDER TO EXPUNGE RECORDS



PURSUANT TO TITLE 22 O.S. SECTIONS 18 AND 19



NOW on this ___________ day of ________________________________, 20______, after consideration of the Petition to Expunge Records Pursuant to Title 22 O.S. Sections 18 and 19, presented by , it is so ORDERED that:







[ ]





The Petition is hereby GRANTED. The Petitioner qualifies for an expungement of records pursuant to paragraph 15 of subsection A of Section 18 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The Court finds that the harm to the Petitioner's privacy or danger of unwarranted adverse consequences outweighs the public's interest in retaining said records. The Court further finds that the law enforcement agencies listed in the Petition to Expunge Records shall seal all of the court, arrest and criminal history records of the Petitioner pursuant to the provisions of Section 19 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Upon the entry of this order to seal the records, or any part thereof, the subject official actions shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the person in interest and all criminal justice agencies may properly reply, upon any inquiry in the matter, that no such action ever occurred and that no such record exists with respect to such person. Inspection of the records included in the order may thereafter be permitted by the court only upon petition by the person in interest who is the subject of such records, the Attorney General, or by the district attorney and only to those persons and for such purposes named in such petition. Employers, educational institutions, state and local government agencies, officials, and employees shall not, in any application or interview or otherwise, require an applicant to disclose any information contained in sealed records. An applicant need not, in answer to any question concerning arrest and criminal records, provide information that has been sealed, including any reference to or information concerning such sealed information, and may state that no such action has ever occurred. Such an application may not be denied solely because of the applicant's refusal to disclose arrest and criminal records information that has been sealed.



[ ]





The Petition is hereby DENIED.



IT IS SO ORDERED.

It is necessary to file a civil action with the Clerk of the District Court and make services on the District Attorney's Office, OSBI, and, in some instances, with the City Attorney of the City involved in the case to ensure that the expungement is effective if it is granted.



If you need help, call me at 918-582-5544.



Kent Morlan