Iowa uses Iowa Code § 123.46 for consumption or intoxication in public places. The statute says: “As used in this section unless the context otherwise requires: (1) (a) “Arrest” means the same as defined in section 804.5 and includes taking into custody pursuant to section 232.19.”
Petitions the courts already decided
State of Iowa v. John Doe, 903 N.W.2d 347 (2017) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “A separately numbered simple-misdemeanor proceeding may therefore be expunged even when its charge was factually related to a charge in another proceeding to which the defendant pleaded guilty.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (2020) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “The statute requires the applicant to have paid all court costs, fees, and other financial obligations ordered or assessed in the singular criminal case for which expungement is sought; financial obligations from other criminal or civil cases do not bar expungement.”
The petition and the sections next to it
Iowa uses Iowa Code § 901C.3 for misdemeanor expungement. The statute says: “More than eight years have passed since the date of the…”
Read Iowa Code § 907.9 when the issue is discharge from probation procedure expungement of deferred judgments. The statute says: “At any time that the court determines that the purposes of probation have been fulfilled and fees imposed under section 904.912 and court debt collected pursuant to section 602.8107 have been paid, the court may order the discharge of a person from probation.”
Iowa Code § 901C.2 deals with not-guilty verdicts and criminal-charge dismissals expungement. The statute says: “(1) (a) Except as provided in paragraph “b”, upon application of a defendant or a prosecutor in a criminal case, or upon the court’s own motion in a criminal case, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case if the court finds that the defendant…”
Iowa Code § 235A.19 deals with examination, requests for correction or expungement and appeal. The statute says: “A subject of a child abuse report, as identified in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, shall have the right to examine report data and disposition data which refers to the…”
Read Iowa Code § 235B.10 when the issue is examination, requests for correction or expungement, and appeal. The statute says: “Any person or that person’s attorney shall have the right to examine dependent adult abuse information in the registry which refers to that…”
Filing order
- Open Iowa Code § 123.46 and read the part on consumption or intoxication in public places. Everything else in the filing has to fit that section.
- Ask the clerk which local form that Iowa county uses, then check the form against Iowa Code § 123.46.
- Then read State of Iowa v. John Doe, 903 N.W.2d 347 (2017). That is a Iowa court already applying this kind of request.
Frequently asked questions
How do you expunge a criminal record in Iowa?
On consumption or intoxication in public places, the Iowa text is Iowa Code § 123.46. The statute says: “As used in this section unless the context otherwise requires: (1) (a) “Arrest” means the same as defined in section 804.5 and includes taking into custody pursuant to section 232.19.”
How have Iowa courts ruled on expungement?
State of Iowa v. John Doe, 903 N.W.2d 347 (2017) “A separately numbered simple-misdemeanor proceeding may therefore be expunged even when its charge was factually related to a charge in another proceeding to which the defendant pleaded guilty.”
Nothing on this page is a prediction of how a Iowa judge will rule. Iowa Code § 123.46 is the text the petition has to satisfy.