When Can Your Continuance For Dismissal Get Expunged? A Minnesota Expungement Attorney Explains.

The Rules for when you can petition to get your records expunged are covered in Minnesota statute 609A.02. There are a few circumstances where you can immediately petition for expungement. But in most cases, there is a waiting period that can be 1-5 years. And there are some offenses that do not allow expungement at all. Identifying the waiting period requires knowledge of what you were charged with, how the case resolved, and knowing when you were discharged from probation or released from conditional release if you were committed to the commissioner of correction.

The Continuance for Dismissal Outlier

 The statute outlines the waiting periods for stay of impositions, stay of adjudications, diversion, and straight convictions for offenses. But if you read the whole statute ten times over, you wouldn’t find explicit mention of a continuance for dismissal (CFD). So, what happens with a continuance for dismissal? This question was brought up to the Minnesota Court of Appeals in State v. A.S.R., 906 N.W.2d 526 (Minn. Ct. App. 2017). The expungement petitioner was arguing that a CFD fell under the category of resolved in favor of the petitioner which requires no waiting period. Whereas the State was arguing that it more appropriately fell under the 1 year waiting period because a CFD is very similar to stay of adjudication and diversion where an admission is made, but a conviction is not entered if probation is successfully completed. The Minnesota Court of Appeals agreed with the expungement petitioner and held that there is no waiting period. Meaning, that if you received a CFD, you can petition for expungement immediately following successful completion of probation.

Conclusion

If you want to expunge your continuance for dismissal case, 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 the head of the appellate and expungement departments at Jack Rice Defense. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed a felony conviction because of the brief Peter drafted. He has successfully expunged cases involving challenging issues with DWI, felony, and violence against family member cases. At the district court level, he has tried two felony jury trials to verdict, and successfully dismissed a felony gun case on 4th amendment grounds. Peter is particularly known for his intelligence, creativity, and legal acumen.