Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Sometimes children misbehave and act out, unfortunately, sometimes these actions lead to serious Jacksonville Criminal Offenses and Penalties. However, in some cases, in Jacksonville, you can expunge a Florida juvenile record. Pursuant to Florida Statute § 943.0582, a juvenile criminal defendant can apply to have his or her record sealed if he or she has successfully completed a prearrest or postarrest diversion program.
In Jacksonville, this program is known as pretrial intervention or diversion. There are certain requirements that must be met, including the following:
- The minor must submit an application signed by the minor’s parent or legal guardian no later than six (6) months after completing the diversion program.
- The minor must include an official written statement from the state attorney certifying that the minor successfully completed the Jacksonville juvenile diversion program and that participation in the program is strictly limited to minors arrested for a nonviolent misdemeanor who have not otherwise been charged with or found to have committed any criminal offense or comparable ordinance violation.
- The prearrest or postarrest diversion program that the minor participated in expressly authorizes or permits such expunction to occur.
- The minor was arrested for a nonviolent misdemeanor that would not qualify as an act of domestic violence as that term is defined in s. 741.28.
- The minor has never, prior to filing the application for expunction, been charged with or been found to have committed any criminal offense or comparable ordinance violation.
It is important to note that a Florida Juvenile Criminal Record Expunction under Florida Statute § 943.0582 is not the same as a Florida Criminal Record Expunction under Florida Statute § 943.0585. Under Section 943.0582(2)(a)(2), Records maintained by local criminal justice agencies in the county in which the arrest occurred seal the file. This is not permitted under Florida Statute § 943.0585(4), which requires “any criminal history record of a minor or an adult which is ordered expunged by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to this section must be physically destroyed or obliterated by any criminal justice agency having custody of such record; except that any criminal history record in the custody of the department must be retained in all cases.”
Therefore, if your child has had a rocky past that is impeding his bright future, contact a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer to review his Jacksonville Criminal History and determine what I can do for them.