Opinion ID: 1684809
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Heading: The Law as to Expungement

Text: Dyer's arrest and guilty plea preceded enactments of statutes dealing with expungement of criminal records. Prior to the 1993 enactment, arrest records could be expunged under a court's general equitable powers. See Kuenzle v. Missouri State Highway Patrol, 865 S.W.2d 667, 669 (Mo. banc 1993). The 1993 legislation supplanted equitable expungement with a statutory remedy of expungement. Under sec. 610.126 [1] , expungement was permitted only if the requirements of sec. 610.122 were satisfied. Specifically, the 1993 version of sec. 610.122 permitted expungement only if the arrest was based on false information and: (1) There is no probable cause, at the time of the action to expunge, to believe the individual committed the offense; (2) No charges will be pursued as a result of the arrest; (3) The subject of the arrest has no prior felony convictions; and (4) An action to expunge the record of arrest is commenced within three years from the date of the arrest or if criminal charges were filed, within three years from the date of any dismissal or reversal. In 1995, the General Assembly modified sec. 610.122 to permit expungement only if the arrest was based on false information and: (1) There is no probable cause, at the time of the action to expunge, to believe the individual committed the offense; (2) No charges will be pursued as a result of the arrest; (3) The subject of the arrest has no prior or subsequent misdemeanor or felony convictions; (4) The subject of the arrest did not receive a suspended imposition of sentence for the offense for which the arrest was made or for any offense related to the arrest; and (5) No civil action is pending relating to the arrest or the records sought to be expunged. Section 610.122 has remained unchanged since 1995.