§ 17-22-950. Summary court expungement orders; removal of Internet-based public records; objections; forms.

526 words·~2 min read·/sc/title-17-criminal-procedures/chapter-22/intervention-programs/17-22-950·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(A)If criminal charges are brought in a summary court, the accused person is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed or nolle prossed, and the accused person was fingerprinted for the charges, the summary court, at no cost to the accused person, immediately shall issue an order to expunge the criminal records, including any associated bench warrants, of the accused person unless the dismissal of the charges occurs at a preliminary hearing or the accused person has charges pending in summary court and a court of general sessions and the charges arise out of the same course of events. Upon issuance of the order, the summary court shall obtain and verify the presence of all necessary signatures and provide copies of the completed expungement order to all governmental agencies which must receive the order, including, but not limited to, the arresting law enforcement agency; the detention facility or jail; the solicitor's office; the clerk of court, but only in cases in which the charges were appealed to the circuit court or remanded to the summary court from general sessions court; the summary court where the arrest or bench warrants originated; the summary court that was involved in any way in the criminal process of the charges or bench warrants; and SLED.

(B)If criminal charges are brought in a summary court, the accused person is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed or nolle prossed, and the person was not fingerprinted for the charges, the accused person may apply to the summary court, at no cost to the accused person, for an order to expunge the criminal records, including any associated bench warrants, of the accused person unless the dismissal of the charges occurs at a preliminary hearing or the accused person has charges pending in summary court and a court of general sessions and the charges arise out of the same course of events. Upon application, and after verification that the charges are appropriate for expungement, the summary court shall issue an order to expunge the criminal records, obtain and verify all necessary signatures, and provide copies of the completed expungement order to the arresting law enforcement agency and all summary courts that were involved in the criminal process of the charges. The summary court is not required to provide copies of the completed expungement order to SLED.

(C)An expungement pursuant to this section must occur no sooner than the appeal expiration date and no later than thirty days after the appeal expiration date.

(D)A summary court shall provide a copy of a completed expungement order issued pursuant to this section to the applicant or the applicant's counsel of record. The copy must be certified or marked with the court's raised seal.

(E)Criminal charges must be removed pursuant to this section from all Internet-based public records no later than thirty days from the disposition date, regardless of whether the accused person applies to the summary court for expungement pursuant to subsection (B). All other criminal records must be destroyed or retained pursuant to the provisions of