Common Question: Should I Expunge All My UT Convictions Now

Background: The state of Utah has a powerful expungement law that provides more benefits than the expungement laws of most other states. However, the Utah law was poorly written, is contradictory, and is not interpreted consistently by the courts or the agency in charge of making the preliminary determination of eligibility (Bureau of Criminal Identification - BCI).

For example, the law makes the waiting period for someone with a two class A misdemeanor cases longer than for someone with a felony case and class A misdemeanor. Also, if you expunge a felony conviction, you cannot later expunge misdemeanor convictions.

The question above often arises when someone is eligible to have a case expunged but is confronted with the choice of waiting to expunge cases for which they are not yet eligible or cannot afford to pay for at the time.

Here is a hpyothetical for illustration purposes:

Bill Gore was convicted of a class 3 felony violation in Utah in 1983. Mr. Gore is eligible to have this conviction expunged.

Bill Gore was also convicted of a Class B misdemeanor in 2007. Mr. Gore will is not eligible to have this conviction expunged.

Mr. Gore has the following options:

Option 1. Expunge the felony now. Pros: Felony is off of the record. Cons: Never be able to expunge another offense in Utah because 77-18-12 (c) says "the petitioner has previously obtained expungement in any jurisdiction of a crime which would be classified as a felony in Utah;"

Option 2. Wait 3 years from the date of completion on the class B misdemeanor and expunge both convictions. Pros. Mr. Gore will have a totally clean record. Cons: Mr. Gore will have to be a felon for at least 3 more years (assuming the law does not change and make it longer).

Option 3. Reduce the felony to a class A misdemeanor and reduce the class B misdemeanor to a class C misdemeanor and expunge the entire record 3 years after completing the sentence on the 2007 case. Pros: Will leave Mr. Gore with a completely clean record and allows him to get the felony off of his record immediately. Cons: Reducing the two cases will cost more time or money and he will have two convictions on his record until he becomes eligible for expungement on the 2007.

Though not addressed in this hypothetical further complications can arise if the client has already received misdemeanor expungements. 77-18-12.(d) renders a person ineligible for expungement if "the petitioner has previously obtained expungement in any jurisdiction of two or more convictions which would be classified as misdemeanors in Utah unless the convictions would be classified as class B or class C misdemeanors in Utah and 15 years have passed since these misdemeanor convictions."

The best option will really depend on the needs of Mr. Gore, and possibly predictions about the the future of Utah's expungement law, which should be changed to fix the inconsistencies and contradictory policies.

So, while this answer is not really an answer, it should make one thing clear: anyone with multiple convictions who is considering expungement in Utah should work with an attorney who is experienced in expungement law.

-Mathew Higbee