Legal Question in Criminal Law in Tennessee

The answer to this question depends on the disposition of those charges. If the charges were dismissed, you can use the form available at the link below to have your charges expunged.

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/sites/default/files/order_for_the_expungement_of_crimimal_offender_record.pdf

If the charges were dismissed after the successful completion of a diversion, you will be required to pay a filing fee of anywhere between $ 350.00 and $ 475. There is no charge (other than perhaps an attorney's fee is you pay an attorney to handle this matter for you) for having charges expunged that were dismissed without having entered into a diversion program.

If any of the charges resulted in a conviction, you may or may not be able to get the conviction expunged depending upon whether there is more than one conviction resulting from separate criminal events, whether the offense that you were convicted of is an eligible charge to be expunged, and whether the required number of years have elapsed since the conviction. The link below provides a good overview of whether your conviction(s) may be eligible for expungement under Tenn. Code Ann. 40-32-101(g).

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/sites/default/files/docs/expungement.pdf

Finally there is a new amendment to the expungement statute that allows the expungement of non-violent criminal convictions after having received a pardon from the Governor, but this statute contains some stringent requirements that must be met. These requirements are also set forth in the link immediately above this paragraph.

Even if you can have some but perhaps not all of your criminal history expunged, it may be worth it. It would look better to prospective employers if your rap sheet consists of only one page containing 1 or 2 charges for which you were convicted then it if it consists of multiple pages that include several charges that were dismissed and eligible for expungement.

Your best bet is to consult with an attorney, who can make sure that your record is cleaned up as much as possible. Best of Luck!