New Two Year Waiting Period on Misdemeanor Expunctions

The Texas Supreme Court ruled today that if a misdemeanor case is dismissed, the defendant must wait two years before filing for an expunction.

The Court reasoned that the petitioner must wait until the statute of limitations runs out before filing to erase the record. The statute of limitations is the time period that the state has to bring charges against a defendant and starts on the date the offense is committed. The statute of limitation for misdemeanors in Texas is two years.

However, there may be a loophole to avoid waiting two years. The expunction statute may be interpreted to read that even if the two year period has not finished, a defendant may be able to expunge the record if the case was dismissed because of lack of probable cause.

It is also unclear whether the new ruling applies to Class C misdemeanors in municipal court.

Look for the legislature to change the two year rule next time they meet.

Read the Texas Supreme Court opinion, The State of Texas v. Judy Beam, here.