At an expungement hearing, what arguments do the prosecutor make? Insights from an expungement attorney

In Minnesota, you are able to petition the court for an expungement of your criminal record for misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and felonies in certain circumstances. What will happen after you file a petition, is that the Court will schedule an expungement hearing. At the expungement hearing, you or your attorney will be able to argue the reasons for granting your expungement. If the prosecutor, or any other agency objects to the expungement, they are given an opportunity to argue against expungement.

What types of things do prosecutors argue? A 2022 Court of Appeals opinion provides some good guidance. In State v. D. E. N., the prosecutor did not attend the hearing but filed a letter brief outlining their arguments against expungement. A22-0039 (Minn. Ct. App. Aug 15, 2022). The arguments included that the case wouldn’t be available if the defendant was charged in the future and it was need by the prosecutor for determining charging level, bail score, prior bad acts evidence in a future trial, and that the victim and police had a right to the records. The District Court denied the expungement. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case because these arguments did not present the “particularized harm” that are supposed to be presented by prosecutors or other agencies that oppose expungements. These were just generalized arguments that could be used in most expungement cases.

Although the Appeals Court opinion didn’t mention this, it’s also notable that these reasons the prosecutor gave are also misleading because even when an expungement is granted, the record can be unsealed. So, there was no need to keep the record out there in the open for everybody to see, when prosecutors are one of the agencies that can petition the court to unseal records.

If you want to expunge your criminal records, you want an attorney who is knowledgeable, experienced, and well versed in the law on expungements. There are many attorneys in the state of Minnesota who offer to do expungement, but don’t practice in the area enough to know the intricacies of the law and how to utilize that to their client’s advantage. Contact Jack Rice Defense today for a free consultation. 651-447-7650

Peter Lindstrom

Peter is also the founder of his own law firm, Subzero Criminal Defense. He regularly contributes to Jack Rice Defense, bringing both his creativity and intelligence. Peter has been successful in getting DWI’s, felonies, and violent convictions expunged. If you want your record cleared, you want Peter as your expungement attorney.