A Judge’s Order That Gives Second Chances

Getting a second chance to move on in life is a valuable gift, and not one that every state offers when it comes down to criminal offenses. Expunging and sealing of records is governed by individual state law and is used as a remedy for qualifying individuals in states that do offer it.  Illinois is one of those states.

The Paper Trails

In Illinois, three paper trails are attached to a person upon mere arrest: (1) an arrest record is created by the arresting agency, like the Chicago PD or county sheriff, (2) the arrest record is given to the state police (ISP), and, (3) when the case goes to court, a clerk’s record is created of the court proceedings.

So what happens to these paper trails when a judge orders an expungement? The law requires the arresting agency to either physically destroy the records or to return them to the petitioner for disposal; the ISP follows the same procedure for most offenses. These agencies will also be ordered by the court to remove the petitioner’s name from any official listing or public record.

On the other hand, the clerk’s record of the court’s proceedings gets impounded, not destroyed. When a record is impounded, a person wanting to review the court record has to go through a judge and show good cause to access it.

Generally speaking, it is not easy to convince a judge to give access to an impounded clerk’s record, even if it is the petitioner him/herself wanting to access it. So as a practical matter, it is recommended that the petitioner obtain a certified disposition of the case to keep on file should he/she ever need to refer to the case in the future; it’s their official “proof” of what ultimately happened in the case.  Also, keep in mind that once a record is un-impounded, the whole expungement process has to be repeated to get it expunged again, and there’s no guarantee a judge would agree.

Just like the law enforcement agencies, the petitioner’s name will also be removed from the clerk’s official index and, thus, from public view.

Lastly, once the judge’s order has been complied with by these three agencies, a letter will be sent to the petitioner stating as much.

Other Paper Trails…Like the Internet

An expungement is limited in scope to the three paper trails. Therefore, if a person does an internet search and finds a newspaper article about the case that was expunged or sees that it was mentioned on social media, nothing can be done about it; the court ordered expungement does not affect these in any way.

Additionally, the judge’s Order is limited in jurisdiction to Illinois.  As such, it does not extend to a record outside of Illinois, such as an FBI record.  That being said, the Illinois State Police tends to inform the FBI of their Order, but wether the FBI also clears the person’s record is left to their discretion.

Background Check Companies

However, with commercial background check companies, the Fair Credit Reporting Act does allow the petitioner to enforce a judge’s order to expunge and have the company remove the expunged case from their report.

Background check companies are notorious for not keeping pace with a judge’s order to expunge, and it is possible for an expunged case to appear in a background check. To fix this, the petitioner has the legal right to contact the company and show them the judge’s order and letters of compliance, and request their records be updated accordingly. This is why it is highly recommended that the petitioner keeps these documents in a safe and secure place.

Final Thoughts

Having a second chance to turn the corner and put a difficult past behind is a true gift offered to those arrested in Illinois and other states. With patience and hope, having an arrest record expunged allows people to move on with their lives and not let that difficult experience get in the way of reaching their goals.

Disclaimer: The above is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice.  Seek legal advice only from an attorney.  For any questions or to have us work on your Petition to Expunge, click here.