Changes to Nondisclosure of Deferred Adjudication in Texas

 Posted on June 22, 2005 in Uncategorized

The governor of Texas has wrought some interesting changes to the law regarding nondisclosure of deferred adjudication probations by signing into law HB 3093. All changes are effective 9/1/5. Some of them are:

Waiting period for nondisclosure of felonies reduced to five years (from ten).

Waiting period for disclosure of some misdemeanors reduced to two years (from five).

DPS can file petition for expunction on behalf of a person.

Another deferred does not prevent a person from receiving nondisclosure of one deferred.

Agencies to which DPS may reveal sealed records are listed in one place (instead of being spread throughout the Government Code as before).

Clerk can collect civil filing fee in addition to $28 nondisclosure filing fee.

DPS has 10 days to seal records after receiving order.

DPS has to send a copy of the order to private entities that purchase criminal history record information from the department.

Entities receiving copies of the order from DPS have 30 days after receipt to seal the information.

A person whose record has been sealed is (explicitly) not required to state in any application that he has been the subject of a criminal proceeding relating to the sealed record.

If a private entity is found by a court to have disseminated sealed information five times, DPS may not release any information to that entity for a year.

A potential juror asked about the record may state only that the matter in question has been sealed.

This appears to be a huge improvement for citizens accused. I don't know how it slipped by.

Advice to people with deferred adjudication probations in their past: if you are entitled to nondisclosure under the current law, file before 9/1/5 to avoid the extra ($200 or so) filing fee.