Misdemeanor Expungement of First Offense
“Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation, and who is a first offender, may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge any such conviction from all public records.” Miss. Code. Ann. § 99-19-71.
In some instances, a person may seek the expungement of additional misdemeanor convictions obtained in justice court and municipal court. Miss. Code Ann. § 9-11-15(3) and Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-7(6) provide that upon prior notice to the prosecuting attorney and upon a showing in open court of (1) rehabilitation, (2) good conduct for a period of 2 years since the last conviction in any court and (3) that the best interest of society would be served, the court may, in its discretion, order the record of conviction of a person of any or all misdemeanors in that court expunged. Once the expungement is granted, the petitioner legally stands as though he had never been convicted of the said misdemeanor(s) and may lawfully so respond to any question of prior convictions.
Misdemeanor Expungement after Non-adjudication
When a misdemeanor charge has been non-adjudicated, Mississippi law provides that upon successful completion of court-imposed conditions, the charge is to be dismissed. Upon dismissal, and in other circumstances, the law directs the Court to expunge the record upon petition to the Court.
Misdemeanor Expungement after Dismissal or Case Retired to File
Upon petition to the Court, Mississippi law requires the Court to expunge the record of any case in which an arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition of the case. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-71(4); Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-7(13)
Misdemeanor Expungement of Minor in Possession Charge
In addition to expungement under one of the methods discussed above, a minor in possession or “MIP” conviction can be expunged in certain circumstances by separate statute “not sooner than one (1) year after the dismissal of the charge or completion of any sentence and/or payment of any fine.” Miss. Code Ann. § 67-3-70(6).
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