Can a DUI be expunged in Wyoming?

Whether a DUI can be cleared at all

A Wyoming DUI conviction under W.S. 31-5-233 is a misdemeanor for a first, second or third offense, and W.S. 7-13-1501 lets a person who pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or was convicted of, a misdemeanor petition the convicting court to expunge the records of conviction once at least five years have passed since the terms of the sentence expired. The statute names no DUI exclusion. It does exclude misdemeanors involving the use or attempted use of a firearm and an offense by a health care provider against a patient under W.S. 6-2-313, and a person may use the section only once in a lifetime. A fourth DUI within 10 years is a felony under W.S. 31-5-233 and falls outside this section.

“(a) A person who has pled guilty or nolo contendere to or been convicted of a misdemeanor may petition the convicting court for an expungement of the records of conviction, subject to the following limitations: (i) At least five (5) years have passed for nonstatus offenses”

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. Wyoming defines the relief so narrowly that the driver record never comes into it. W.S. 7-13-1401(j)(i), the definition W.S. 7-13-1501(m)(i) adopts, says expungement means only the reclassification of the record maintained in the files of the state central repository at the Division of Criminal Investigation, and W.S. 7-13-1401(j)(ii) defines the record as any notation of the arrest, charge or disposition maintained in that repository. The Department of Transportation is separate: under W.S. 31-5-1204 courts forward abstracts of convictions to the department, which keeps them at its main office open to public inspection. Driver Services states a driving record carries five years of history for driving under the influence, reckless driving, accident judgments, vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an injury accident, a felony resulting from the manner of driving, and transporting liquor to a minor, and that a 10-year record must be specifically requested.

“"Expungement" means only the classification of the record maintained in the files of the state central repository at the division of criminal investigation as defined by W.S. 7-19-107(a), in a manner reasonably tailored to ensure that the record will not be available”

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

How long the wait is, and from when

W.S. 7-13-1501(a)(i) requires at least five years to have passed for nonstatus offenses since the expiration of the terms of sentence imposed by the court, including any period of probation or the completion of any program the court ordered. Status offenses as defined by W.S. 7-1-107(b)(iii) carry one year. Where there was no conviction, W.S. 7-13-1401(a)(i) sets a much shorter period: at least 180 days since the arrest or since the charges were dismissed, with no formal charges pending, no conviction on any charge including a lesser one, and no disposition under W.S. 7-13-301, W.S. 35-7-1037 or former W.S. 7-13-203.

“At least five (5) years have passed for nonstatus offenses and at least one (1) year has passed for status offenses as defined by W.S. 7-1-107(b)(iii) since the expiration of the terms of sentence imposed by the court, including any periods of probation”

Automatic or by petition

Wyoming has no Clean Slate or automatic sealing law. Both routes begin with a verified petition: W.S. 7-13-1501 for a misdemeanor conviction and W.S. 7-13-1401 for an arrest or dismissed charge. Under W.S. 7-13-1501(f), if no objection is filed within 30 days after service on the prosecuting attorney, the court may enter an order summarily where it finds the petitioner otherwise eligible, but the petition still has to be filed.

“(f) If no objection is filed to the petition within thirty (30) days after service of the notice by the petitioner upon the prosecuting attorney, the court may summarily enter an order if the court finds that the petitioner is otherwise eligible for relief under this section.”

Where it is filed, and what it costs

W.S. 7-13-1501(b) requires the petition to be verified by the petitioner and served on the prosecuting attorney and the Division of Criminal Investigation, and sets the filing fee at one hundred dollars, deposited in accordance with W.S. 5-9-144. The prosecuting attorney notifies identifiable victims by certified mail and has 30 days after service to file an objection or a recommendation. If the prosecuting attorney or a victim objects, or if the petitioner objects to a criminal history report the court requested from the Division of Criminal Investigation, the court sets a hearing. The court grants the order if the petitioner is eligible and does not represent a substantial danger to himself, any identifiable victim or society, and it also places the court files under seal and sends a certified copy of the order to the Division of Criminal Investigation. By contrast W.S. 7-13-1401(e) provides there is no filing fee for a petition covering an arrest or dismissed charge.

“A petition filed under this section shall be verified by the petitioner and served upon the prosecuting attorney and the division of criminal investigation. The filing fee for each petition filed under this section shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00)”

Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior

W.S. 31-5-233 escalates penalties on a second and third DUI conviction within 10 years after a conviction for a violation of that section or another law prohibiting driving while under the influence, and makes a fourth conviction within 10 years a felony. Because W.S. 7-13-1401(j)(i) limits expungement to the record held at the Division of Criminal Investigation and keeps that record available for dissemination to criminal justice agencies for criminal justice purposes, the expungement does not erase the count.

“On a fourth offense resulting in a conviction or subsequent conviction within ten (10) years for a violation of this section or other law prohibiting driving while under the influence, he shall be guilty of a felony”

The statute: Wyo. Stat. § 7-13-1501

“7-13-1501. Petition for expungement of records of conviction of certain misdemeanors; filing fee; notice; objections; hearing; definitions; exceptions.”