Arkansas uses Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405 for who may ask. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-16-1107 speaks in expungement. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405 speaks in sealing. They are different orders.
On what the order does, the Arkansas text is Ark. Code Ann. § 25-16-1107. Read it for what a granted order changes. The statute says: “An expunged record shall not serve as the basis for forfeiture of office or disqualification from office under this…”
What an order changes
Arkansas uses Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-211 for record retention schedule. The statute says: “Permanently maintain: (A) Case indices for all district courts; (B) Case dockets for all district courts; (C) Active warrants; (D) Waivers; (E) Expungement and sealed records; (F) Files concerning convictions under the Omnibus DWI or BWI Act, § 5-65-101 et seq.”
The petition and the sections next to it
Where petitions fail
Kerm Powers v. Winston Bryant, 309 Ark. 568 (1992) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “In the Tyler case, we discussed the legal effect of expunction under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, and relied on decisions of the Fifth and Sixth Circuits holding the expungement under the federal act actually removed the fact of a conviction.”
Cameron Scott Bolin v. State of Arkansas — Hannah, 2015 Ark. LEXIS 256 (2015) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “Act 1460, which became effective on January 1, 2014, amended various statutes in the Arkansas Code, repealed existing statutory procedures for the expungement and sealing of criminal records, and created the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013 to govern all…”
Tem Tyler v. Lottie Shackleford, 303 Ark. 662 (1990) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “The document set aside the conviction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5021(b), a section repealed by Congress in 1984.”
Read in this order
- Open Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405 and read the part on who may ask. Everything else in the filing has to fit that section.
- Ask the clerk which local form that Arkansas county uses, then check the form against Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405.
- If the court grants the petition, Ark. Code Ann. § 25-16-1107 is what the order actually changes.
- Then read Kerm Powers v. Winston Bryant, 309 Ark. 568 (1992). That is a Arkansas court already applying this kind of request.
Frequently asked questions
How do you expunge a criminal record in Arkansas?
Arkansas uses Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405 for who may ask. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-16-1107 speaks in expungement. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405 speaks in sealing. They are different orders.
What does a granted Arkansas order change?
Ark. Code Ann. § 25-16-1107 deals with what the order does. Read it for what a granted order changes. The statute says: “An expunged record shall not serve as the basis for forfeiture of office or disqualification from office under this…”
How have Arkansas courts ruled on expungement and sealing?
Kerm Powers v. Winston Bryant, 309 Ark. 568 (1992) “In the Tyler case, we discussed the legal effect of expunction under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, and relied on decisions of the Fifth and Sixth Circuits holding the expungement under the federal act actually removed the fact of a conviction.”
County practice in Arkansas can add a local form. It cannot replace Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1405.