1. Expungements

2. General Guidelines for Expungement
KSA
Generally, there are 3 different requirements for length of time to become eligible for expungement.
3 years
5 years
Ineligible
Depending on the level of offense, disposition of the case, and registration requirements, the date from which this period is calculated can differ.

3. General Guidelines for Expungement
To determine statutory eligibility, look at the disposition of the case.
Petitions may be made after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed since the person:
Satisfied the sentence imposed; or
Was discharged from probation, a Comm. Correctional Program, parole, postrelease, conditional release, or a SIS
KSA (a)

4. General Guidelines for Expungement
3 year requirement
Traffic/Tobacco infractions
Misdemeanors
Class D/E felonies
If crime committed on or after 7/1/1993
Any non-grid felony or felony ranked 6-10
If committed 7/1/93--7/1/12
Level 4 of drug grid
If committed on or after 7/1/12
Any felony Level 5 of drug grid
If diverted, may petition 3 years after successful termination date
Last 2 are showing difference between old 4 and new Level 5. Both simple possessions

5. General Guidelines for Expungement
5 year requirement
A, B, C felonies
On or after 7/1/1993
Off-grid felonies, or levels 1-5 of the non-drug grid
On or after 7/1/93 but before 7/1/12
Levels 1-3 of the drug grid
On or after 7/1/12
Levels 1-4 of drug grid
Additional miscellaneous charges
DWS, Vehicular Homicide, Perjury, Felonies involving vehicles, Leaving the scene of an accident--KSA (c)(1)-(8)
Again, same concept as before. After recodification, they created an additional level of distribution. Old level 4 is now a 5. Old level 3 is still basically a 3, and 4 is a lower weight.

6. DUI Expungements This has changed many times over the years
10 years, 7 years, 5 and 10 years, no expungements whatsoever
Currently--KSA (d)(1)-(2)
5 years for 1st time DUI
10 years for 2nd or subsequent DUI
House Bill 2085
As of 2017, the Legislature addressed the convoluted nature of DUI expungements
Current statute applies to all violations committed on or after 7/1/06
Makes this retroactive
TL;DR--No more cases of DUI not being expungeable whatsoever from 2006 on.

7. Expungements not allowed...EVER
No expungements are allowed for convictions of the following (including attempted crimes), KSA (e)(1)-(18):
Rape
Indecent Liberties/Agg Indecent Liberties/Criminal Sodomy
Agg/Indecent solicitation of a child, Sexual exploitation of a child
Agg Incest
Agg/Child Endangerment, Abuse of a child,
Capital murder, Murder 1st, Murder 2nd (pretty much any murder)
Voluntary/Involuntary manslaughter
Sexual battery if victim was less than 18, Agg Sexual Battery (no age req.)
Commercial DUI, including diversions (which aren’t typically allowed)
Any conviction prior to 7/1/11 that is comparable to any above

8. Findings Necessary for Expungement
KSA (h)(1)-(3):
No felony conviction in past 2 years, and no pending felony currently
circumstances/behavior warrant expungement
Consistent with the public welfare
Subject to Judicial Discretion. Review is abuse of discretion, so much deference is given to Trial courts regarding expungements--State v. Sandstrom, 2002, 44 P.3d 434, 273 Kan. 558.
Case law has shown that some things court will consider are, subsequent criminal history, performance on probation, subsequent law enforcement contact, seriousness of the conviction, if there is a need to allow the public to be aware of that conviction.

9. Factors Considered by the Court
Prior and subsequent criminal history
Falls under the behavior requirement
Performance on probation/diversion/parole/etc
Courts may consider this as it shows whether or not a person was serious regarding reformation.
Also shows an indication of future behavior
Reasons for wanting the conviction expunged
Many times this is related to employment and housing
Life changes made since the conviction
Education, volunteer work, counseling/treatment, family involvement
Seriousness of the offense for which expungement is sought
Whether or not the Court feels comfortable about the public not having this knowledge, and if the Court feels this would endanger the public

10. Expungement and Registration
Registration offenses can affect a petitioner’s eligibility for expungement.
KSA (f):
Any offender required to register under KORA, cannot have any conviction or any part of the offender’s criminal history expunged during the registration period.
Took effect in However, this wasn’t always the case.
Previous cases involved pre-2012 registration offenses. Expungement subsequently wipe away the conviction. The Court found that this wiped away the requirement to register as there was no conviction to trigger KORA.
But, expungements do not always mean that a person is treated the same as a person that was never convicted...

11. Expungements and Firearms
KSA (k)(2)
Expungement of a prior felony does not relieve individual of complying with any state or federal law relating to use/shipment/transportation/receipt/possession of a firearm.
Kansas statute addresses expungement in KSA (a)(3)(A)
However, other States or Federal law might have provisions regarding restrictions on firearms for those that were convicted of a felony.

12. Criminal History in Subsequent Cases
Upon successful petition, a person is treated as not having been convicted of the crime. However, that prior conviction can still be used for various reasons.
Prior convictions can be used to calculate criminal history scores
Expunged convictions must be disclosed during the application process for various law enforcement, firearms and investigatory jobs
Any application for admission or reinstatement to the Bar
Kansas Lottery employment
Racing and Gaming employment
Conceal carry permit
Applications for Commercial DL’s
If prior conviction is an element of a subsequent offense, disclosure is allowed
The Court, in the order, may specify when disclosure is allowed
Last one: Many times we will ask for this in ID Theft, ID Fraud, Embezzlement cases so that the victim can disclose it to the IRS to alleviate tax issues. Also, Judges will sometimes do this for convictions that are sexual in nature (lewd and lascivious is a common example). They will order that the defendant must disclose it if they are going to apply for jobs working with children or more vulnerable segments of the population.

13. Expungement Recap Identify the conviction and severity level
Calculate length of time since they satisfied their sentence/probation/diversion/postrelease/SIS
Ensure they have no pending felonies or felony convictions within the past 2 years and that expungement is allowed for this offense
Check for any issues on bond, probation, parole, or postrelease that would weigh negatively against them during expungement
Gather information regarding steps taken since the offense and efforts at reformation