Can a DUI be expunged in Mississippi?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

Mississippi has an expunction route written into the driving-under-the-influence statute itself. A person convicted of a first offence under Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30(2) or (3) who did not hold a commercial driver's licence or commercial learning permit at the time may petition the circuit court of the county of conviction at least five years after successfully completing every term and condition of the sentence. It is open only to someone who did not refuse a blood or breath test, whose blood alcohol concentration tested below .16% where results exist, who has no other driving-under-the-influence conviction or pending charge, who gives the court justification, and who has not previously had a nonadjudication or expunction under the section.

“Any person convicted under subsection (2) or (3) of this section of a first offense of driving under the influence and who was not the holder of a commercial driver's license or a commercial learning permit at the time of the offense may petition the circuit court of the county in which the”

The driving record is a separate record

This is the part most summaries leave out. A court can seal or expunge the criminal case and the licensing agency can still keep the DUI on the driver record, where it reaches insurers and counts as a prior offence if there is a second one.

Not cleared. The Department of Public Safety keeps the case permanently. The statute directs the court to forward the expunction order to the department within five days, and requires the department to maintain a permanent confidential registry of every expunction granted under the subsection, used to decide whether a person is eligible for expunction, for nonadjudication, or as a first offender. Before a plea is taken on a later charge, law enforcement must certify that the driving record, the confidential registry and the National Crime Information Center record were all searched.

“A person is eligible for only one (1) expunction under this subsection, and the Department of Public Safety shall maintain a permanent confidential registry of all cases of expunction under this subsection for the sole purpose of determining a person's eligibility for expunction, for”

What else sits on that record: suspensions and points in Mississippi.

How long the wait is, and from when

The petition may be filed at least five years after successful completion of all terms and conditions of the sentence imposed for the conviction. A person is eligible for only one expunction under the subsection, and cannot use it if they have previously had a nonadjudication or expunction of a violation of the same section. Where the case was resolved by nonadjudication rather than conviction, that is a separate route under Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30(14) and is also available only once.

“at least five (5) years after successful completion of all terms and conditions of the sentence imposed for the conviction. Expunction under this subsection will only be available to a person: (i) Who has successfully completed all terms and conditions of the sentence imposed for the conviction;”

Automatic or by petition

Mississippi has no Clean Slate or automatic clearing law reaching a driving-under-the-influence conviction. Relief comes only on a petition to the circuit court of the county of conviction, and the court must state in writing the justification for granting it.

“The court in its order of expunction shall state in writing the justification for which the expunction was granted and forward the order to the Department of Public Safety within five (5) days of the entry of the order.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

A petition goes to the circuit court of the county where the conviction was entered, showing completion of every term and condition of the sentence, no test refusal, a blood alcohol concentration below .16% where results exist, no other driving-under-the-influence conviction or pending charge, and no previous nonadjudication or expunction under the section, together with a justification for the expunction. If granted, the court states its justification in writing and forwards the order to the Department of Public Safety within five days.

“may petition the circuit court of the county in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge the record of the conviction”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

An expunged first offence still counts. Before a defendant pleads guilty to a later charge under the section, law enforcement must certify to the prosecutor that the driving record, the confidential registry and the National Crime Information Center record were searched for all prior convictions, nonadjudications, pretrial diversions and arrests for driving or operating a vehicle under the influence, and the results must be in the certification. For sentencing purposes the affidavit or indictment states the number of convictions within the past five years for a second or third offence, and without a time limitation for a fourth or subsequent offence.

“Before a defendant enters a plea of guilty to an offense under this section, law enforcement must submit certification to the prosecutor that the defendant's driving record, the confidential registry and National Crime Information Center record have been searched for all prior convictions”

The statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30(13)

“(13) Expunction. (a) Any person convicted under subsection (2) or (3) of this section of a first offense of driving under the influence ... may petition the circuit court of the county in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge the record of the conviction at least five (5) years after”