Police Procedure for Expunction of Records of Arrest

Article 55.01, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides procedure which allows a person to obtain expunction in a district court for the county in which they were arrested,

The City’s Department of Law is responsible for representing the City and the Police Department in Expunction matters.

B. Motions (Petitions) and Orders for Expunction of Arrest Records

1. Motions and Orders for Expunction are received from the Court by the Legal Liaison Section of the Internal Affairs Division, and assigned by the Section Lieutenant to the Administrative Assistant for completion.

2. The Administrative Assistant of the Legal Liaison Section is responsible for the following:

a. A copy of the Petition (Motion) is forwarded to the Department of Law for review.

b. A copy of the arrest history of the petitioner is gathered and attached to the petition and held in a pending file until the Expunction Order is received.

c. The Expunction Petition is attached to the Expunction Order along with pertinent offense reports.

d. An Expunction Order Transmittal form is completed and attached to the Expunction packet.

e. This packet is referred to the appropriate divisions of the Police Department and to the Information Technology Solutions Department where records will be expunged and returned to the Legal Liaison Section within two weeks of distribution.

Police must make sure that all steps regarding the expunction process are completed and all information forwarded to the court within 45 days of the date of the expunction order.