Expungement of Old Arrest Records

Question:

R.G. asks: "I was arrested several years ago in Davidson County, and I entered into a deal with the D.A. that allowed my charges to be dismissed so long as avoided picking up any new charges within the following year. I never picked up any new charges, and the charges against me were dismissed. However, when my employer performed a background check on me recently, this old charge showed up, and even though it had been dismissed I still had a lot of explaining to do to my employer. Can I get this charge removed from my record?"

Answer:

Yes, so long as your charges were in fact dismissed and there was never a conviction entered in your case, you are entitled to have these charges expunged from your records. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101. However, there may be a filing fee depending on how the charges were dismissed. From your question it is not clear whether you entered into an informal agreement with the D.A. to set your case off for a year prior to simply dismissing your charges so long as you stayed out of trouble or you entered into a formal pretrial or judicial diversion. If you entered into a formal pretrial or judicial diversion, then there will be a $ 50.00 filing fee in addition to any attorney's fee that you will have to pay when hiring an attorney to assist you.