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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Court of Appeals granted a defendant’s petition for rehearing to address a “perhaps unique question” presented in his petition: Does he have to wait three years before he can file another petition to expunge the records of his Class A misdemeanor conviction?
The appeals court affirmed in May the denial of Craig Alvey’s petition to expunge his Class A misdemeanor conviction of possession of cocaine. He originally pleaded guilty to a Class D felony, but the terms of the agreement allowed him to petition to have the conviction reduced after completing his sentence. Before the conviction was reduced, he twice admitted to violating the terms of his probation. These violations served as the basis for the denial of his expungement petition because the trial court and the Court of Appeals held that he did not successfully complete his sentence.
On Wednesday, the judges decided that Alvey should not have to wait three years before he can file a new petition for expungement under the current expungement statute. The statute in effect when he filed required petitioners to wait three years after their petition was denied to file a new petition. The statute in effect now does not contain a three-year waiting period for new petitions unless certain conditions are present, and those conditions do not apply here, Judge Paul Mathias wrote in Craig Alvey v. State of Indiana, 20A04-1310-MI-533.
The original decision is affirmed in all other respects.
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