When a petition to expunge a conviction, arrest record or diversion is filed, the Clerk of the District Court will provide the petitioner with a date for the hearing on the expungement.
Any unsigned proposed order of expungement provided to the Clerk of the District Court will be referred to the District Attorney’s office pending resolution on the petition.
The petitioner shall file a notice of hearing with the Clerk’s Office. The clerk is responsible for sending the notice to the prosecutor and the arresting law enforcement agency.
Expungement hearings will be scheduled on the last Wednesday of the month starting at 1:15 p.m. The Clerk of the District Court will provide a date for hearing on the next available expungement docket, 60 days after the filing of the petition.
If the Thanksgiving holiday or Christmas holiday falls during the week of the last Wednesday of the month, then the expungement hearings for November and December will be scheduled on the Wednesday prior to the holiday week.
The Clerk of the District Court will maintain a master calendar entry for expungements and will schedule approximately 20 cases per expungement docket.
Should a petitioner or the District Attorney request a specific setting requiring additional time, they will be referred to the administrative assistant for the assigned division, currently division thirteen.
In the event a petition for expungement is presented for filing without the required copy of the notice of hearing, the Clerk of the District Court will accept the petition for filing. The Clerk of the District Court shall schedule a hearing date and provide notice to the prosecutor, the petitioner, and the arresting law enforcement agency.
Every petition for expungement requires a filing fee and a surcharge to be paid at the time of filing, except as otherwise provided by law. The Clerk of the District Court will accept and file a petition in which a poverty affidavit for the filing fee and an affidavit of hardship for the surcharge have been filed.
At the expungement hearing, the Court will determine whether to assess or waive the filing fee and surcharge. If the filing fee and surcharge are assessed by the Court in a case in which a poverty affidavit for the filing fee and an affidavit of hardship for the surcharge has been filed, any order of expungement will not be approved until proof of payment is provided to the Court. These cases will be referred to a payment monitor and the petitioner will be given 90 days to make the necessary payments. Failure to make the required payments will result in a dismissal of the petition.
