First Offender Status for Purposes of Expungement in Ohio
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| In Ohio, to qualify for statutory expungement, you must be a first offender as that term is defined under the statute. Whether an individual is a first offender is reviewed de novo by the appellate court. State v. Mullins, Cuyahoga App. No. 85273, 2005 Ohio 2193. If the applicant is not a first offender, the court lacks jurisdiction to grant the expungement. State v. Kirtley (July 22, 1999), Cuyahoga App. No. 75901, 1999 Ohio App. LEXIS 3390. |
R.C. 2953.31(A) states in pertinent part, that a first offender "means anyone who has been convicted of an offense in this state or any other jurisdiction and who previously or subsequently has not been convicted of the same or a different offense in this state or any other jurisdiction." Pursuant to statute, only a person with a single conviction generally qualifies for expungement. However, the Ohio Revised Code creates exceptions to this general rule.
The exception at issue here provides "[w]hen two or more convictions result from or are connected with the same act or result from offenses committed at the same time, they shall be counted as one conviction." R.C. 2953.31(A). Ohio's Eighth District Court of Appeals recently considered a case wherein a defendant was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and grand theft auto for actions which happened over a two day period.
The facts of the case were that the defendant pleaded no contest and was found guilty of carrying a concealed weapon on the same day he was arrested. The trial court sentenced him to spend ten days in jail, nine of which were suspended. The following day, the defendant and another man were released from jail and went to the impound lot to retrieve their vehicle.
When they could not access their vehicle, they stole another vehicle from the impound lot. They drove this vehicle across state lines and were eventually arrested in New York. The Trial Court held, and the Court of Appeals agreed, that these acts were separate offenses based upon unrelated conduct. The the defendant was denied his application for expungement.
Continue on to our complete guide to Ohio expungement law
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