Can I get my DWI arrest expunged?
Here’s a question that comes up a lot. You were arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Now your case has been disposed and you are wondering if you can get your DWI expunged. The short answer is yes, but only under certain circumstances. If your DWI is dismissed in the interest of justice and/or because you were eligible for and then successfully completed the State’s Pre Trial Intervention program, you can then get your DWI arrest expunged. What does that mean exactly? It means that your record is now sealed and that the arrest disappears from your record. Not only will potential employers or landlords be unable to see the arrest, but law enforcement agencies won’t see it either. That means that if you are ever arrested again, that the police and/or the District Attorney won’t see evidence of your DWI arrest.
Where a lot of people get confused is when they were convicted many years ago or have successfully completed probation stemming from a DWI conviction. Some folks think that the passage of time or a successful completion of probation means that they can get their DWI expunged. This is simply not true. If you are granted probation on your DWI in Texas, that means that you have been convicted. And most of the time that means that your DWI conviction and arrest are on your record for good.
But even if you don’t get your case dismissed there is still another path to getting your DWI expunged – acquittal. That means that you can also get your case expunged after winning at trial. And unlike a dismissal, you don’t have to wait until the statute of limitations has run. In either case, getting your DWI expunged does not happen automatically. You or your DWI lawyer have to file the appropriate paperwork.
If you did have your DWI dismissed and you still have that DWI arrest on your record, then you need to call a Houston Dwi Lawyer. We can help.