Mississippi uses Miss. Code Ann. § 45-33-55 for miss Code Ann § 45-33-55. The statute says: “Except for juvenile criminal history information that has been sealed by order of the court, this chapter exempts sex offenses from laws of this state or court orders authorizing the destroying, expunging, purging or sealing of criminal history records to the extent such…” Do not file a conviction petition on the strength of that section unless the words above are about a criminal docket.
The petition and the sections next to it
Mississippi uses Miss. Code Ann. § 45-27-21 for miss Code Ann § 45-27-21. The statute says: “A certified copy of every expunction and nonadjudication order shall be sent by the circuit clerk to the Mississippi Criminal Information Center where it shall be maintained in a separate confidential database accessible only upon written request by a district attorney, a…”
Appellate readings
Zachary Polk v. State of Mississippi, 2014 Miss. LEXIS 497 (2014) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “Because no statute authorizes expungement based on a pardon, the circuit court correctly denied expungement of Count I.”
Chelsey Ferguson v. Mississippi Department of Public Safety-Criminal (2019) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “Section 45-33-55 exempts sex offenses from expungement orders to the extent the information is authorized for dissemination under the Act, therefore Ferguson must continue to register.”
State of Mississippi v. N.J., 373 So.3d 579 (2023) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “The circuit court granted N.J.’s motion, finding that the two convictions “arose from a common nucleus of operative facts” and therefore could be expunged as only one felony expunction pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-71(2)(a) (Rev. 2020).”
A practical sequence
- Open Miss. Code Ann. § 45-33-55 and read the part on miss Code Ann § 45-33-55. Everything else in the filing has to fit that section.
- Ask the clerk which local form that Mississippi county uses, then check the form against Miss. Code Ann. § 45-33-55.
- Then read Zachary Polk v. State of Mississippi, 2014 Miss. LEXIS 497 (2014). That is a Mississippi court already applying this kind of request.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mississippi section actually came up for expungement and sealing?
On miss Code Ann § 45-33-55, the Mississippi text is Miss. Code Ann. § 45-33-55. The statute says: “Except for juvenile criminal history information that has been sealed by order of the court, this chapter exempts sex offenses from laws of this state or court orders authorizing the destroying, expunging, purging or sealing of criminal history records to the extent such…” Treat that as the scope of the section you have. It may be a databank entry or a license file rather than a conviction.
How have Mississippi courts ruled on expungement and sealing?
Zachary Polk v. State of Mississippi, 2014 Miss. LEXIS 497 (2014) “Because no statute authorizes expungement based on a pardon, the circuit court correctly denied expungement of Count I.”
Read Miss. Code Ann. § 45-33-55 in full before you file. A quotation on this page is a starting point, not the whole section.