Texas Sealing Laws

[hellorandom2856]

Sec. 58.003. SEALING OF RECORDS. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), on the application of a person who has been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, or a person taken into custody to determine whether the person engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, on the juvenile court's own motion the court shall order the sealing of the records in the case if the court finds that:

(1) two years have elapsed since final discharge of the person or since the last official action in the person's case if there was no adjudication; and

(2) since the time specified in Subdivision (1), the person has not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision and no proceeding is pending seeking conviction or adjudication.

(b) A court may not order the sealing of the records of a person who has received a determinate sentence for engaging in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law listed in Section 53.045 or engaging in habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031.

(c) Subject to Subsection (b), a court may order the sealing of records concerning a person adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony only if:

(1) the person is 19 years of age or older;

(2) the person was not transferred by a juvenile court under Section 54.02 to a criminal court for prosecution;

(3) the records have not been used as evidence in the punishment phase of a criminal proceeding under Section 3(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure; and

(4) the person has not been convicted of a penal law of the grade of felony after becoming age 17.






Does this mean the judge has the chioce of sealing or not felony records and if he choose not to what would be an example of why not.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

No the sealing of juvenile records is not discretionary IF the juvenile (now an adult) meets all of the criteria. If the issue is raised and all criteria are met the Court must seal the records.

But... juvenile courts are setup differently from one county to the next and there is no guarantee that the juvenile court will initiate the sealing. Often the juvenile who has since reached adulthood must raise the issue in the juvenile court either themself or through an attorney. There also may be questions as to whether the person qualifies or not and that might require they prove up their right to sealing.

Even after the records are sealed they can still be viewed or copied with a court order. A district attorney's office is always going to be able to get sealed juvenile records for example.

 

[hellorandom2856]

No the sealing of juvenile records is not discretionary IF the juvenile (now an adult) meets all of the criteria. If the issue is raised and all criteria are met the Court must seal the records.

But... juvenile courts are setup differently from one county to the next and there is no guarantee that the juvenile court will initiate the sealing. Often the juvenile who has since reached adulthood must raise the issue in the juvenile court either themself or through an attorney. There also may be questions as to whether the person qualifies or not and that might require they prove up their right to sealing.

Even after the records are sealed they can still be viewed or copied with a court order. A district attorney's office is always going to be able to get sealed juvenile records for example.

Thank You for answering this question alot of real needed this answer