Have you successfully completed a drug court program in Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama? Even if your drug charge was dismissed, have you had your record of the arrest expunged?

If your Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama Drug Court case or DUI was dismissed after you successfully completed a drug court or other court approved diversion program and a year or more time has passed, then you may be eligible to petition the proper court for an expungement (or clearing) of the records of your arrest.

Alabama’s Expungement Law that became effective in July, 2014 governs the eligibility of a person who successfully completes a drug court program (resulting in a dismissal of the charge) to be able to petition the Circuit Court of the proper county for an expungement (or clearing) of the record of arrest from the charge.

 Alabama’s Expungement Law provides, in relevant part:

“ Petition for expungement of record of a felony offense. (Effective July 6, 2014)

(a) A person who has been charged with a felony offense, except a violent offense as defined in Section 12-25-32(14), Code of Alabama 1975, may file a petition in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county in which the charges were filed, to expunge records relating to the charge in any of the following circumstances: … (4)  a. The charge was dismissed after successful completion of a drug court program, mental health court program, diversion program, veteran’s court, or any court-approved deferred prosecution program after one year from successful completion of the program. …” Code of Ala. § 15-27-2  (2014).

If you were arrested for a drug or DUI charge in Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama and successfully completed a drug court or other court referral program resulting in your case being dismissed, congratulations for your hard work. Hopefully you learned a lot and were able to grow as a person in the program. However, even if your case was dismissed, have you taken the additional step to now seek to petition the court for an expungement of the record of your arrest for the drug or DUI charge under Alabama’s recently passed expungement law?

Even if your drug case was dismissed by the court, the record of your arrest will appear on your criminal record that may be accessible to a person, company, or institution that performs a background check on you. If you are eligible and are granted an expungement by the court, the expungement order would clear or clean (expunge) the record of your arrest from your criminal record to the extent allowed by the Alabama Expungement Law.

A dismissal is good, but an expungement of your arrest record in Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama is even better. A clear background check is important to your future. If you have successfully completed a drug court program in Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama and will be applying for a job, a job promotion, applying for college, considering a professional career, or applying for a loan, you may want to see if you are eligible to petition the proper court to clear (expunge) you arrest record.

Contact Attorney, Jordan M. Copeland of MobileExpungementLawyer.com to determine if you are eligible to seek an expungement of your Baldwin or Mobile County, Alabama arrest record. Email us at [email protected] or call our Alabama Expungement Law offices today: (251) 545-3637.