Trusted Expungement Lawyer in Nashville, TN

When an individual has had a criminal record sealed, they may request that their record be expunged. When a court orders expungement, it is erased from public records. In addition, if an individual has been charged with a crime and later found not guilty or the complaint was dismissed or dropped, the case may be eligible for expungement. If an individual obtains an order of protection following a hearing and the court denies their petition, or if a grand jury returns a “no true bill” in their case, after which they are not prosecuted for the crime for which they were arrested or charged, their record may also be eligible for expungement.

In 2012, Tennessee passed a law to allow many nonviolent criminal convictions to be expunged. As of 2017, specific individuals can expunge up to two criminal convictions—either two eligible misdemeanor convictions or one eligible misdemeanor conviction and one eligible felony—after five years have elapsed since the person completed the sentence imposed for the offense.

The following is a list, including but not limited to, of misdemeanors not eligible for expunction:

• Aggravated assault of a public employee
• Aggravated criminal trespass of a habitation, hospital, or campus of any public or private school, or railroad property
• Allowing a person aged 18-21 to consume alcohol on your premises
• Assault
• Child abuse (where a child is between ages 7-17)
• Child neglect and endangerment (where the child is between ages 7-13)
• Coercion of abortion
• Disorderly conduct at funerals
• Display for sale or rental of material harmful to minors
• Disseminating smoking paraphernalia to a minor after 3 prior violations
• Domestic assault
• Driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI)
• Enticing a child to purchase intoxicating liquor  
• Purchasing alcoholic beverages for a child
• Failure of an adult to report a juvenile carrying a gun in school
• Failure to surrender handgun carry permit upon suspension
• Fraudulent use of a credit/debit card (up to $500)
• Harboring or hiding a runaway child
• Importing, preparing, distributing, processing, or appearing in obscene material or Class A misdemeanors
• Misuse of official information by a public servant
• Nonparent providing a handgun to a juvenile
• Possession of a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
• Possession of a firearm while prohibited by state or federal law
• Possession of a firearm while an order of protection is in effect
• Control of or consumption of alcoholic beverages on K-12 school premises
• Control of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia Divinorum or other synthetic cannabinoids
• Public indecency
• Reckless burning
• Sale or loan to minors of harmful materials
• Sale or possession of synthetic derivatives or analogs of methcathinone
• Soliciting a minor to engage in a Class E sexual offense
• Stalking
• Third or subsequent violation of “The Child Rape Protection Act of 2006”
• Unlawful dispensing of immediate methamphetamine precursor, sale of meth precursor to a person on the methamphetamine registry or purchase by someone on registry, possessing meth precursor with intent to sell to another for unlawful use, purchasing meth precursor for another for illegal use, buying meth precursor at different times and places to circumvent limits, and use false ID to buy meth precursor to avoid limits
• Unlawful exhibition of obscene material
• Unlawful massage or exposure of erogenous areas
• Unlawful sexual contact by an authority figure
• Using substances or devices to falsify drug test results & selling synthetic urine
• Violation of community supervision by a sex offender that does not constitute an offense or a misdemeanor.
• Violation of protective or restraining order
• Violent felon owning or possessing a vicious dog

The following is a list of eligible felonies, if the prison sentence was three years or less:

• Accessory after the fact
• Aggravated criminal littering 
• Burglary of a motor vehicle
• Communication theft (fine only)
• Counterfeit controlled substance
• Criminal simulation
• Custodial interference where the defendant does not voluntarily return a person
• Destruction of valuable papers
• Destruction or concealment of a will
• Evading arrest in a motor vehicle that posed no risk to bystanders
• Failure to appear (felony)
• Forgery
• Fraud in insolvency
• Fraudulent or false insurance claim
• Fraudulent qualification for set-aside programs
• Fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle with a value of less than $20,000
• Fraudulent use of a credit or debit card
• Gifts of adulterated candy or food
• Hindering secured creditors
• Home improvement fraud
• Impersonation of a licensed professional
• Knowing dissemination of illegally recorded cellular communication
• Manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession of not less than ½ ounce and not more than 10 pounds of Schedule VI drug marijuana (fine not greater than $1,000)
• Manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession of Schedule V drug (fine, not greater than $5,000)
• Manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession of Schedule VII drug (fine not greater than $1,000)
• Sale of recorded live performances without consent
• Selling glue for an unlawful purpose
• Simple possession or casual exchange (third offense)
• Taking telecommunication devices into a penal institution
• Theft
• Theft of trade secrets
• Unauthorized solicitation for police, judicial, or safety associations
• Unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities
• Unsolicited bulk electronic mail
• A utility service interruption or property damage
• Vandalism
• Violation of Tennessee Personal And Commercial Computer Act
• Worthless checks