K
ksuebee
Guest
What is the name of your state? KY at applicable time
When I was much younger and a hella lot stupider, I was given a "conditional discharge" on a misdemeanor possession charge (marijuana, age 21 at the time). After successfully doing my part in the probation/conditional discharge, I tried to retain a local KY atty to "expunge" my record in the small town where it all went down. When he went to pull my file, it "no longer existed." Since the town is so small, and I'd seen the "file" before (it consisted of a slim brown envelope with my ticket number written on the outside of it), I wasn't completely surprised that it was gone, but I was a little confused b/c the local atty originally thought I still needed to expunge the record. After going to the courthouse, the atty decided that since the file was gone, I had obviously completed the necessary requirements of the conditional discharge, and that the charges were therefore discharged, the file was tossed, and the arrest wouldn't appear on my record. He wouldn't let me pay a retainer to him and pursue it any further b/c he said there was nothing else to do, what with there being no file.
Does this ring true/false to anyone? On a conditional discharge, does the record just disappear if you complete your part successfully? And if it does have to be expunged, how would you go about it when the court file has disappeared? I still have my copies of all the applicable paperwork, btw - essentially a copy of the court file, I believe, but only my fading copies.
And please, there's no point in tossing insults at me about the whole thing unless you just can't help it. The whole experience was a lesson learned, and a good one at that - I've never even entertained the idea of any illegal activity in the 11 years since. Some people just have to learn the hard way, but that doesn't lessen the lesson when one is actually learned.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
When I was much younger and a hella lot stupider, I was given a "conditional discharge" on a misdemeanor possession charge (marijuana, age 21 at the time). After successfully doing my part in the probation/conditional discharge, I tried to retain a local KY atty to "expunge" my record in the small town where it all went down. When he went to pull my file, it "no longer existed." Since the town is so small, and I'd seen the "file" before (it consisted of a slim brown envelope with my ticket number written on the outside of it), I wasn't completely surprised that it was gone, but I was a little confused b/c the local atty originally thought I still needed to expunge the record. After going to the courthouse, the atty decided that since the file was gone, I had obviously completed the necessary requirements of the conditional discharge, and that the charges were therefore discharged, the file was tossed, and the arrest wouldn't appear on my record. He wouldn't let me pay a retainer to him and pursue it any further b/c he said there was nothing else to do, what with there being no file.
Does this ring true/false to anyone? On a conditional discharge, does the record just disappear if you complete your part successfully? And if it does have to be expunged, how would you go about it when the court file has disappeared? I still have my copies of all the applicable paperwork, btw - essentially a copy of the court file, I believe, but only my fading copies.
And please, there's no point in tossing insults at me about the whole thing unless you just can't help it. The whole experience was a lesson learned, and a good one at that - I've never even entertained the idea of any illegal activity in the 11 years since. Some people just have to learn the hard way, but that doesn't lessen the lesson when one is actually learned.
Thanks in advance for any advice.