Main Checklist

Step 1: Research the law.

Familiarize yourself with MCL 712A.18e, the statute that governs the expungement of juvenile adjudications.

Step 2: Determine whether the adjudication may be expunged.

Not all clients are eligible to have their juvenile adjudications expunged and not all juvenile adjudications are capable of being expunged. To help you determine whether your client is eligible to have his or her particular adjudication expunged, see the flowchart below.

Step 3: Order a certified copy of the order of disposition.

Contact the court where the adjudication occurred and order a certified copy of the order of disposition. MCL 712A.18e(4)(b). Be patient as records more than five years old are often in storage, converted to microfiche, or otherwise difficult to access. There may be a small charge for this process. I recommend that you make a personal visit to the court to pick up the certified copy. It never hurts to make nice with a helpful court clerk in person.

Step 4: Obtain and complete the necessary form.

To expunge the adjudication, you must fill out SCAO form JC 66, Application to Set Aside Adjudication. You will need the certified copy of the order of disposition (see step 3) to complete the application.

This form also contains the order if the application is granted.

Step 5: File the application.

You will need five copies of the application to set aside the adjudication and four copies of the certified record of the order of disposition. (The form states that the clerk shall make these copies, but I am sure it would be appreciated if you made the copies.)

To the court clerk, give the original, signed and notarized application, all five copies of the application, and the original certified copy of the order of disposition. The clerk will set a hearing date, keep the certified copy of the order of disposition and the original application, and return the five copies of the application with the hearing date noted in the “Notice of Hearing” section of the application.

Of the remaining copies of the application and order of disposition, one of each will be sent to the Michigan State Police (see step 7) and one of each will be sent to the attorney general (see step 8). Be sure to keep in your files the remaining two copies of the application and copy of the order of disposition.

Step 6: Get your client fingerprinted.

Your client must obtain a set of his or her fingerprints. Contact your local police agency. Police are called upon frequently to fingerprint people for various applications, licensing procedures, etc., and should accommodate your request for fingerprinting. They may schedule an appointment or they may advise you to simply walk in during designated times.

The fingerprints will be taken on an applicant card (RI-7). Fill out the card completely. You may have to pay an application fee to the police agency.

Step 7: Send information to the Michigan State Police.

Mail the following items to the Michigan State Police:

• a copy of the Application to Set Aside Adjudication
• a copy of the certified order of disposition
• the fingerprint card
• a $30 fee payable to the State of Michigan

Step 8: Alert the attorney general and the prosecuting attorney.

At least seven days before the hearing, mail a copy of the application and a copy of the order of disposition to the attorney general and the prosecuting attorney for the county in which the adjudication took place.

Step 9: Complete the proof of service.

After mailing the copies to the attorney general, prosecuting attorney, and state police, complete the proof of service on the remaining to copies of the Application to Set Aside Adjudication. This is contained in the section at the bottom of the application entitled “Proof of Service.” Simply check the appropriate boxes, fill in the dates, and sign and date at the bottom. Keep one copy of this form, with the completed proof of service, for your records, and mail or personally file the original with the court clerk.

Step 10: Prepare for the hearing.

All judges handle juvenile expungements differently. Some will grant the expungement automatically if the applicant is eligible; others will want strong evidence of good character. Be ready for the latter approach.

If the adjudication to be expunged was assaultive in nature, the prosecutor will give the victim written notice of the request for expungement, including a copy of the Application to Set Aside the Adjudication. Therefore, an applicant with an assaultive crime should be prepared for the possibility that the victim will contact the judge to oppose the expungement, or even appear at the hearing.

Step 11: Complete the process.

If the judge grants the expungement, check with the court clerk to make sure the court will send copies of the order to the Michigan State Police Central Records Division. You may want to send copies yourself to the attorney general and prosecuting attorney.

After a couple of months, you may wish to contact the Michigan State Police Criminal Records Division at (517) 322-1665 to make sure that your client’s record was expunged.

Step 12: Understand the implications of an expunged record.

Expungement of a juvenile adjudication has the effect of setting aside a juvenile’s adjudication. This permits your client to honestly tell a potential employer that he or she has never been convicted of a crime. However, even an expunged criminal record can be used for some purposes. For an explanation of what you can expect after expungement, see Practice Guidance.

When to Use

Use this How-To Kit to determine whether your client is entitled to expunge a juvenile adjudication (one which occurred prior to the client’s 17th birthday) and to obtain such an expungement. This Kit will also instruct you on the implications of the expungement in terms of your client’s pursuit of a career or an education.

Using these materials is not a substitute for the attorney’s independent judgment, drafting, and research.

Additional Practice Guidance

Flowchart

The following series of questions will enable you to determine whether your client’s adjudication can be expunged:

1. Is the adjudication for an offense that if committed by an adult would be a felony for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment? If yes, you may not expunge the adjudication. MCL 712A.18e(2)(a). If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
2. Is the adjudication for a traffic offense, such as drunk driving, driving without a license, or any other criminal misdemeanor or felony under the Traffic Code (MCL 257.1 et seq.)? If yes, you may not expunge the adjudication. MCL 712A.18e(2)(b). If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
3. Is the adjudication for an offense for which the juvenile was tried as an adult and which resulted in a conviction under MCL 712A.2d? If yes, you may not expunge this offense via the juvenile expungement procedure in MCL 712A.18e. (The conviction may be set aside under the adult expungement statute, MCL 780.621.) If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
4. Does the client have more than one juvenile adjudication? If yes, you may not expunge this adjudication. MCL 712A.18e(1). If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
5. Does the client have any adult convictions for felonies in addition to the adjudication the client wants to have expunged? If yes, the adjudication may not be expunged. If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
6. Has it been less than five years since the disposition for the adjudication? If yes, you may not expunge the adjudication. MCL 712A.18e(3). Note that a disposition is not considered completed for purposes of the expungement statute until the completion of any term of detention for that adjudication. MCL 712A.18e(3). If the answer is no, proceed to the next question.
7. Is the person less than 24 years of age? If yes, you may not expunge the adjudication no matter how many years it has been since the disposition has been completed. If the answer is no, proceed to the expungement process.

Personal Visit

If you choose to travel to the court where the juvenile adjudication occurred to pick up the certified copy of the order of disposition in person as recommended, you can accomplish all of the following in one stop:

• get the precise information about the adjudication from the certified record
• complete the Application to Set Aside the Adjudication (see step 4)
• have the court clerk notarize the application (see step 5)
• obtain a hearing date from the clerk (see step 5)

Michigan State Police

The address for the state police is

• Michigan State Police
• Criminal Justice Information Center
• 7150 Harris Drive
• Lansing, MI 48913

For inquiries regarding records, contact the Michigan State Police, Criminal Records Division, 106 W. Allegan, Lansing, MI 48933. For questions or problems, call the state police at (517) 322-5531.

Attorney General

The address for the attorney general’s office is

• Attorney General’s Office
• Corrections Division
• G. Mennen Williams Building, 4th Floor
• 525 W. Ottawa Street
• P.O. Box 30217
• Lansing, MI 48909

Prosecuting Attorney

The address for the prosecuting attorney for the county in which you received the adjudication is obtainable from a variety of sources such as the Bar Journal, the telephone book, or the Internet. You can also ask the court clerk.

Evidence of Good Character

Be prepared to present the following at the expungement hearing:

• If your client has been in school, bring copies of transcripts.
• If your client has been working, bring a resume and letters of reference from employers.
• If your client has done volunteer work or community service, bring evidence of what has been done and letters, if available.
• If your client has been rehabilitated (drug or alcohol intervention, psychological treatment, and/or religious or spiritual guidance from a place of worship), bring proof.
• Bring letters of support from friends, family members, or others who know your client well and can vouch for his or her good character. Consider bringing some of these key people to the hearing. Even if the judge does not want to hear from them, it will make a positive impression to be able to tell the judge that your client’s parents, partner, boss, and best friend are at the hearing to lend their support.

Effect of Expungement

In general, once an adjudication is set aside under the expungement statute, you are legally considered not to have been adjudicated of the juvenile offense. In Michigan, most employers may not legally ask about criminal history that did not result in a conviction. MCL 37.2205a. But there are exceptions that may cause a criminal history to haunt a person after expungement.

First, you have only expunged a conviction, not erased the arrest or the court proceedings. Accordingly, even after expungement, some employers may inquire beyond the matter of whether there is a criminal conviction and require an applicant to disclose an arrest, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a finding of guilt by a judge or jury. Many employers are specifically authorized by statute to conduct criminal history checks, and certain government or law enforcement agencies are not limited to determining only whether a conviction was obtained. In addition, anyone with $10 can obtain a person’s criminal history from the state police Web site, which may still reveal the arrest.

Also, employers in other states may be bound by different laws than Michigan and may be allowed to ask about arrests that did not result in conviction. There is no law that prohibits licensing agencies from holding your arrest record against you, including agencies overseeing medical, legal, financial, and even horse-racing fields. Colleges and graduate schools are free to ask about anything to do with one’s criminal history—and often do. Landlords may ask about arrests on rental applications.

Finally, expunged convictions are still considered convictions for purposes of immigration deportation, may not affect a Secretary of State abstract, will not alter registration as a sexual offender, and may be considered in sentencing if the person is ever convicted of another offense. See MCL 780.622 for other things unaffected by expungement.

Once again, a person whose conviction is expunged may only answer “no” to the question “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” If an application inquires into the fact of arrest or asks about criminal dispositions taking place before expungement, one may need to obtain legal advice as to whether the question may legally be asked, and if so, how to answer it.

If a person does ever need to explain the circumstances of an expunged conviction, it is best to handle the explanation in the same way as the expungement hearing before the judge and to be prepared with strong evidence of rehabilitation since the crime occurred.

Despite the limited protection offered by an expungement, successfully setting aside a conviction can go a long way in helping a person have a fresh start in life, whether it be in finding employment or pursuing an education.