Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.225 for order setting aside conviction or record of criminal charge. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline.
The petition and the sections next to it
Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.261 for application for expunction of records relating to contact, violations and certain misdemeanors. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline.
Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.267 for notice of expunction. The statute says: “Has had contact with the juvenile department; (b) Has never been the subject of a petition alleging that the subject person is subject to the juvenile court’s jurisdiction under ORS 419C.”
When a different section applies
Read Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.265 when the issue is who may ask. The statute says: “Notwithstanding ORS 419A.262 (Application for expunction of records relating to certain misdemeanors, prostitution and certain sex crimes) (2)(a), a person is eligible for an order of expunction under ORS 419A.”
Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.262 for application for expunction of records relating to certain misdemeanors, prostitution and certain sex crimes. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline.
What an order changes
Read Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.269 when the issue is what the order does. Read it for what a granted order changes. The statute says: “Upon issuance of a notice of expunction under ORS 419A.267 (Notice of expunction) or entry of an expunction judgment under ORS 419A.261 (Application for expunction of records relating to contact, violations and certain misdemeanors) or 419A.”
What the courts have done
Springer v. State OF Oregon Et Al, 50 Or. App. 5 (1981) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “In doing so, it minimizes the fact that when the conviction is expunged, the arrest record is expunged along with it.”
State OF Oregon v. David George Gwyther, 57 Or. App. 34 (1982) is worth reading in full. The opinion puts it this way: “In his affidavit in support of the motion to set aside the conviction, defendant stated that he had not been convicted of any offense during the past 10 years or charged with any crime since August 14, 1969.”
Before you file
- Open Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.225 and read the part on order setting aside conviction or record of criminal charge. Everything else in the filing has to fit that section.
- Ask the clerk which local form that Oregon county uses, then check the form against Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.225.
- If the court grants the petition, Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.269 is what the order actually changes.
- Then read Springer v. State OF Oregon Et Al, 50 Or. App. 5 (1981). That is a Oregon court already applying this kind of request.
Frequently asked questions
How do you expunge a criminal record in Oregon?
Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.225 for order setting aside conviction or record of criminal charge. Read those subsections before you draft. The title is only the outline.
What does a granted Oregon order change?
Oregon uses Or. Rev. Stat. § 419a.269 for what the order does. Read it for what a granted order changes. The statute says: “Upon issuance of a notice of expunction under ORS 419A.267 (Notice of expunction) or entry of an expunction judgment under ORS 419A.261 (Application for expunction of records relating to contact, violations and certain misdemeanors) or 419A.”
How have Oregon courts ruled on expunction?
Springer v. State OF Oregon Et Al, 50 Or. App. 5 (1981) “In doing so, it minimizes the fact that when the conviction is expunged, the arrest record is expunged along with it.”
Oregon clerks still control the form and the fee. Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.225 is the statewide rule on who may ask and what the order does.