As a general rule, you can seal or expunge a Florida criminal record so long as you have not been convicted of a crime. Therefore, if you received a withhold of adjudication, you can seal your record. However, there are certain criminal offenses that cannot be sealed or expunged, even if adjudication is withheld, if you plea guilty or no contest to the charge. These criminal offenses can be found in Florida Statute Section 907.041. For example, you cannot seal or expunge a Florida aggravated battery or Florida domestic battery if you have pled guilty or no contest to such charge. This is the law regardless of whether or not you received a conviction or a withhold of adjudication.
Two questions still remain:
- Can you seal a Florida aggravated battery or domestic battery record if you pled to a lesser or amended offense, such as a simple battery or fighting/affray?
- Can you expunge a Florida aggravated battery or domestic battery record if the charges were dropped?
According to the Florida Statute Section 943.059, an individual may not have his criminal record sealed if it relates to "a violation enumerated in s. 907.041...without regard to whether adjudication was withheld, if the defendant was found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to the offense." Section 907.041 lists aggravated battery and domestic battery as an enumerated crimes. However, simple battery and fighting or affray are not an enumerated crimes. Ergo, an individual that has pled guilty or nolo contendere to such offense should be able to have his or her record sealed, so long as adjudication of guilt was withheld, according to the plain language of this Florida statute. This is not the case. The FDLE will reject the application. On the other hand, if the charges were dropped, the FDLE will not reject the application, assuming all other necessary conditions are fulfilled. I do not agree with this. A person's criminal background can make or break them. It makes a person less marketable in an already overly competive work place. As such, many Florida residents are being denied job opportunities. If this has happened to you, and you would like to fight this decision, contact a Florida Record Sealing Lawyer. You only have 30 days from the date of the FDLE's rejection letter to petition the court for a writ of mandamus.
