With Expungements, Same Indictment Does Not Mean Same Offense
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| Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 2953.32(A)(1), under certain circumstances, a "first offender" may apply to the sentencing court for sealing of a conviction record. If the applicant is not a "first offender," the trial court lacks jurisdiction to grant an expungement. This means that you can only have one conviction on your record when you petition for expungement.
But there are some exceptions to this. The Ohio Legislature realized that sometimes people get into a run of trouble over a short period of time, and if the crimes they commit are close enough together, then they may be considered as one conviction, even if there are more than one. Thus, R.C. 2953.31(A) defines the term "first offender" as follows: |
"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. When 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. When two or three convictions result from the same indictment, information, or complaint, from the same plea of guilty, or from the same official proceeding, and result from related criminal acts that were committed within a three-month period but do not result from the same act or from offenses committed at the same time, they shall be counted as one conviction, provided that a court may decide as provided in division (C) (1) (a) of section 2953.32 of the Revised Code that it is not in the public interest for the two or three convictions to be counted as one conviction.
Some have argued that if all of the convictions arise out of the same indictment, then they should all be counted as one single conviction. But Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals has disagreed. The Court reasoned that "if an applicant for expungement is not a "first offender," the trial court lacks jurisdiction to grant an expungement." This is true even if the convictions arise out of the same indictment.
The case on this is State v. Wilson, 2007 Ohio App. LEXIS 1633 (April 17, 2007) Franklin Co. App. No. 06AP-1060.
Continue on to our complete guide to Ohio expungement law
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