Clean Slate Expungement Law Basics
Not nearly enough people with criminal convictions exercised their rights to expungement. The Clean Slate expungement law radically changes how a criminal expungement occurs. In the past, a person would file an application to remove the criminal conviction with a court. There would be a hearing before the judge. The Clean Slate expungement law creates an automatic expungement system for qualifying criminal convictions, in other words, no application is filed in court and there is no hearing before a judge. However, Clean Slate still allows the application procedure, like in the past. Under the Clean Slate expungement law, if a person is convicted of a qualifying crime, then the person experiences several years of crime-free life, the conviction will be expunged automatically, or it falls off of the person’s criminal history. However, the automatic expungement portion of Clean Slate doesn’t start until 2023 and not all past convictions qualify for automatic expungement. In the meantime, people that want to remove a conviction from their criminal history must file a petition with the court. I am a Traverse City expungement attorney serving all of Northern Michigan. I can help people remove convictions right now and help people secure better employment and better housing for their families.
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A conviction for the following may not be removed from a person’s criminal history under the Clean Slate expungement law:
1. A felony or attempted felony where the maximum punishment is life in prison.
2. A violation or attempted violation: Child Abuse 2nd Degree(MCL 750.136b); Child Abuse 2nd Degree in presence of another child (MCL 750.136d(1)(b)); Child Abuse 2nd Degree in presence of another child, 2nd or subsequent offense(MCL 750.136d(1)(c); Child Sexually Abusive Material-Possession of Child Abusive Material(750.145c); Use of Internet or Computer for Certain Crimes(MCL 750.145d); CSC 2nd Degree(MCL 750.520c); CSC 3rd Degree(MCL 750.520d); Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Penitration or Contact(MCL 750.520g).
3. A violation or attempted violation of CSC 4th Degree if convicted prior to Jan 12th, 2015.
4. Traffic Offenses: a) Any subsequent drunk driving offenses. (First offense drunk driving offenses may now be expunged.) b) Any traffic offense with a CDL license operator while operating a commercial vehicle. c) Any traffic offense that causes injury or death.
5. A felony Domestic Violence conviction if the person has a prior misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.
6. A conviction for Human Trafficking(MCL 750.462a to 750.642h) and Terrorism(MCL 750.543a to MCL 750.543z).
Clean Slate and The Bad Part
Clean Slate will likely help very few people with criminal convictions right now. Clean Slate creates automatic expungement that will only apply to a person’s last conviction. If someone has a criminal conviction, then they are convicted of a subsequent crime, the subsequent criminal conviction will lock the first conviction and render it ineligible for expungement. For Example:
1993 Misdemeanor conviction
1995 Felony conviction
2004 Misdemeanor conviction
2021 File for expungement of the 1995 Felony conviction.
The 1995 Felony conviction is ineligible for expungement because of the 2004 misdemeanor conviction. MCL 780.621(4)(c). What Clean Slate does is create a system where qualifying convictions will fall off or are automatically expunged, over varying amounts of time, but only if there are no subsequent convictions since the last conviction. The Clean Slate expungement law does not allow attorneys and their clients to hop over the last conviction and expunge an earlier conviction. The promise of 3 expungable felonies is only true for people in the future, not the people with felony convictions today. If you are interested in reading the troublesome statute, you can view the statute here. Click Here MCL 780.621d(4)(c).
In conclusion, the Clean Slate expungement law has caused some controversy among lawyers that routinely perform expungements for their clients. Until MCL 780.621d(4)(c) is interpreted by the courts, the viability of removing three felony convictions for people with convictions in their history today is in doubt. This legislation creates the need for a test case, just like the early days of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act(MMMA). Maybe the right client will come along that is willing to appeal the restrictive statute within Clean Slate to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
First Offense Drunk Driving Convictions May Now Be Expunged
First offense Drunk Driving offenses, including operating while intoxicated by drugs, may now be expunged. The petitioner must wait five years after his or her discharge from probation. There is no automatic expungement for a first offense drunk driving, the petitioner must file an application in court. Only one drunk driving conviction may be expunged in Michigan. The petitioner’s first, and only, operating while intoxicated conviction. However, MCL 780.621(4)(c) does apply. This means that the first offense conviction must be the last conviction on the petitioner’s criminal record. For example, if the petitioner was convicted of a drunk driving first offense in 2004, but also was convicted of reckless driving, a misdemeanor, in 2015, the petitioner would not be eligible for expungement of the OWI offense in 2004. There are many people that receive one drunk driving conviction then live an ordinary, crime-free life. Clean Slate allows people to remove this past mistake. This is a substantial change from the past law.
Special Requirements for Drunk Driving Expungement in Michigan
The Court may review whether a Petitioner benefited from rehabilitative or educational programs while on probation. The Court may deny “the petition if it is not convinced that the petitioner has either availed himself or herself of rehabilitative or educational programming or benefited from rehabilitative or educational programming he or she has completed.” MCL 780.621c. What does this mean? First, how the petitioner was discharged from probation is important. The final probation order typically indicates if the probationer completed the terms of probation or whether the probationer just blew off their probation. The final order should state whether the probationer was discharged “successfully” or “unsuccessfully.” Second, the petitioner’s prior drug and alcohol offenses become relevant. For example, if a petitioner acquired 3 minor in possession of alcohol(MIP) convictions and one use of marijuana conviction prior to their drunk driving conviction, the Judge will be looking for some rehabilitative progress. All District Court judges are educated in the matters of drug and alcohol addiction. A pattern develops for drug and alcohol addiction, this pattern typically starts small with offenses like MIP convictions, then increases to marijuana convictions, followed by a drunk driving conviction or two, and finally a felony controlled substance conviction. If the petitioner’s criminal history demonstrates a lengthy pattern of drug and alcohol abuse, the Judge will be reluctant to sign an order for expungement without more proof that the petitioner has their drug and alcohol problems under control.
Do I Qualify to Expunge My Drunk Driving in Michigan
Do you have a drunk driving conviction from a Michigan court? Yes, continue. No, stop you can only expunge Michigan criminal convictions under Michigan law.
Was your drunk driving conviction a misdemeanor offense for operating while intoxicated, impaired driving, driving while under influence of drugs, super drunk driving, operating with unlawful bodily alcohol content, or for a “zero tolerance” drunk driving? Yes, continue. If no, stop you were convicted of a felony drunk driving and are ineligible to expunge this conviction.
Is your drunk driving conviction the last criminal conviction in your criminal history? A criminal conviction includes any misdemeanor or felony conviction, either a conviction in a Michigan court or any other state or federal court. Yes, continue. No, stop you may not expunge your drunk driving conviction due to your subsequent criminal conviction. MCL 780.621d(4)(c).
Was anyone, including yourself, injured by your drunk driving offense? No, continue. Yes, stop you can not expunge your drunk driving offense due to causing a physical injury to a person. MCL 780.621(1)(c)(iii)
Were you driving a commercial vehicle and did you have a CDL license when you were arrested for drunk driving? If no, continue. Yes, stop you may not expunge your drunk driving conviction.
Were you discharged “successfully” from your probation? Yes, continue. If No, you may still be able to expunge your drunk driving conviction. However, you will have to demonstrate to the court that your drug and alcohol use is under control.
Do you have criminal convictions prior to your DUI conviction? Convictions such as MIP, use or possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, meth, cocaine, etc., convictions, or any other prior convictions that indicate drug or alcohol usage? No, you may expunge your drunk driving conviction. If yes, you may still be able to expunge your drunk driving conviction. However, you will have to demonstrate to the court that your drug and alcohol use is under control.
How Much Money To Hire A Traverse City Expungement Attorney
To start, I am offering a flat fee contract to expunge a drunk driving conviction for $550.00 with travel expenses of $35 an hour. I also charge $90.00 to determine if a person qualifies for a criminal expungement. Whether or not a client will need to spend the $90 to determine eligibility depends on the person. In Michigan, 30,000.00 people were arrested for drunk driving in 2019. A lot of people have only one conviction in their criminal history, and that one conviction is for drunk driving. I am an affordable expungement attorney in Traverse City and I want to help you remove your conviction.
Does Clean Slate Help People That Already Have Criminal Convictions
Yes. As discussed above, one and only one drunk driving conviction may be expunged for the petitioner’s criminal history. Misdemeanor marijuana convictions may be expunged with a simplified process. There is no limit to misdemeanor expungements. See below for a discussion of this process and my fee schedule.
Under limited circumstances, 2 or more felonies, or 2 or misdemeanors, may be counted as a single felony or misdemeanor. When a person gets into trouble with the law, often they are charged with multiple crimes related to one incident. On a criminal complaint filed in court, there will be more than one count, or charge, against the person. MCL 780.621b allows multiple convictions related to the same incident within 24 hours to be counted as one offense. If an applicant’s last stop in court resulted in multiple convictions as described above, then Clean Slate will help the applicant. This “count it as one conviction” rule is limited and requires careful review to determine eligibility.
Automatic expungement is coming for people who can’t invest time or money into a criminal expungement. Not all criminal convictions may be automatically expunged, this means for many people there is no alternative but to file an application for a conviction expungement.
Misdemeanor Marijuana Convictions Under The Clean Slate Expungement Law
MCL 780.621e rewrites the procedure and necessary elements for an expungement application for marijuana misdemeanor convictions. An unlimited number of marijuana misdemeanor convictions may be removed from a person’s criminal history. The application is streamlined and very little is needed to complete an application and file it in court. Removed are the requirements found in the normal application for an expungement, such as service of the application/petition upon the Michigan Attorney General and fingerprint cards sent to the Michigan State Police. Submitting fingerprint cards to the MSP typically holds up the procedure for up to 90 days.
This public desire to remove these convictions also manifests in the procedure and presumptions built into the statute. A simplified application for expungement must be filed and served upon the Prosecuting attorney. Once the application is filed with the court, the Prosecuting attorney has 60 days to answer. If the prosecutor doesn’t answer, the Court must sign the expungement order within 21-days.
This statute also eliminates the standard used for your normal application for a criminal record expungement. The normal standard: Looking at the time from conviction to filing of an application for expungement, is setting aside this conviction consistent with the public welfare. In a nutshell, your typical applicant/petitioner for expungement has to prove to the court that since the conviction, the applicant/petitioner has lived a normal, lawful, life. MCL 780.621e abandoned this standard. Using instead a rebuttable presumption in favor of expungement.
This presumption that a misdemeanor conviction for marijuana should be expunged may be challenged by the prosecutor. If the prosecutor files an answer to the application, at a hearing, the prosecutor must show:
“At the hearing, the prosecuting agency must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a conviction or convictions sought to be set aside by an applicant were based upon conduct that would constitute a criminal violation of the laws of this state or a political subdivision of this state if it had been committed on or after December 6, 2018.” MCL 780.621e
What are the circumstances in which a prosecutor may refute the expungement presumption and prevent the expungement? The first situation that comes to mind would be when facts and circumstances for the original convictions would still be illegal today under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (MRTMA). MRTMA is the law that made recreational marijuana use/possession legal in Michigan. Conduct such as driving under the influence of marijuana, possession/use of marijuana by a person under 21, transporting marijuana improperly in a vehicle, and consuming marijuana in an automobile. Basically conduct that isn’t protected by MRTMA today. Probably the largest group of ineligible convictions under MCL 780.621e will be people that have misdemeanor use/possession of marijuana convictions while they were 17,18, 19, and 20 years old. The second situation that I can imagine would be when someone is charged with a felony, but through the pretrial negotiations, the parties reached a deal where the defendant would plead to a one-year misdemeanor marijuana possession. There are a lot of people that decide to enter a plea to a lesser included offense, not because they have a poor chance at trial, rather because the stakes are very high and a plea adds certainty to a frightening situation. Keep in mind that Clean Slate is a brand new law and the courts will interpret the statute further defining how and when a prosecutor may rebut the presumption in favor of expungement.
Another question that comes to mind is whether prosecutors will even bother contesting misdemeanor marijuana applications for expungement. Someone at the prosecutor’s office will have to examine the old files and make a decision. This requires time and effort by staff, time that may be better served on current cases. Prosecutors’ offices across the state may simply ignore these filings thereby allowing these expungements to take place uncontested.
Remove Your Misdemeanor Marijuana Conviction Right Now
The procedure for misdemeanor marijuana conviction expungement is not complicated unless the Prosecutor answers the application and contests the presumption for expungement. The real question is whether to wait for automatic expungement in 2023 or proceed to immediately file an application to remove the misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Automatic expungement is scheduled to start in April of 2023. Under automatic restoration, a person convicted of the use or possession of marijuana will have to wait 7 years from the date of the sentencing before the conviction is removed automatically from their record. That means anyone convicted of the use or possession of marijuana after April of 2016 will have to wait longer than April of 2023 to remove their conviction using automatic expungement. Or, the same person may file an application today to remove your misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Under Clean Slate, misdemeanor marijuana convictions have a dedicated section and abbreviated procedure within the larger whole of Clean Slate. The statute sections related to automatic expungement do not mention misdemeanor marijuana convictions. This silence could be interpreted by the courts to mean that automatic expungement doesn’t apply to marijuana misdemeanors.
My misdemeanor marijuana expungement service starts at $300.00. For $300 dollars you can have a Traverse City expungement attorney remove your conviction. If the prosecutor answers the petition to remove the misdemeanor marijuana conviction, thereby creating the need for a court hearing, then the legal service contract converts to an hourly contract with travel expenses. There is a very good chance that most prosecutors in this State will not answer, but that decision depends on the individual prosecutor.
What is a Misdemeanor Marijuana Conviction under Clean Slate?
The following crimes may be expunged under the simplified procedure: 1) Possession of Marijuana, MCL 333.7403(2)(d); 2) Use of marijuana 333.7404(2)(d); 3) Selling marijuana paraphernalia, MCL 333.7453; and 4) A violations of a local ordinance that are similar to the above.
I Need Help With a Criminal Record Expungement in Michigan
For $90.00 I will provide a criminal conviction expungement review. I will determine what convictions may be expunged under the Clean Slate expungement law. The Clean Slate law is complicated and requires careful analysis. Prices for a felony, serious misdemeanors and assaultive crime expungement vary depending on travel costs. Call today to get started, 231-883-4170