I Finished DWI Pretrial Diversion - Can I get my Record Expunged?
One of the carrots the Harris County District Attorney's Office is offering with the new DWI pre-trial diversion program is an expunction after the completion of the program. Is this just another fraud by the DA's office? I think so.
Let's take a closer look at the draft proposal the DA's office has shared to date. The final paragraph of that proposal is a DISCLAIMER that says,
The defendant acknowledges that he may or may not be eligible for an expunction upon the completion of their agreement and the dismissal of this case.
What do you mean "the defendant may or may not be eligible for an expunction?" Let me get this straight, the Harris County DA's office is offering this program presumably to allow a defendant to clear his record. However, in the same document, the DA's office is forcing a defendant to acknowledge that the DA is not going to help them get the record expunged.
The reason for this disclaimer is that the Department of Public Safety may look at this plea arrangement as a form of deferred adjudication probation and oppose the expunction. The DA's office knows that DPS is going to oppose an expunction and they don't care. Just another fraud by the Harris County DA's office's pretrial diversion program.
