Expungement / Record Sealing Petition and Eligibility Memo — Louisiana

Louisiana Expungement Eligibility Memo and Motion Worksheet

Louisiana requires the forms enacted in Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 987-995
and 998. Use Article 989 for a motion to expunge and Article 994 for an interim
motion. This memo and worksheet may support preparation but must not replace the
statutory form.

Part A — Eligibility Memorandum

TO: [CLIENT NAME]

FROM: [ATTORNEY NAME], [LAW FIRM]

DATE: [__/__/____]

RE: Expungement eligibility, Docket No. [________________________________]

1. Conclusion

[CLIENT NAME] is ☐ eligible now ☐ potentially eligible after [DATE OR EVENT]
☐ not eligible under the reviewed articles.

The selected route is:

☐ Article 976 — arrest did not result in conviction

☐ Article 977 — misdemeanor conviction

☐ Article 978 — felony conviction

☐ Article 985.1 — interim expungement of a felony arrest that resulted in a
misdemeanor conviction

☐ Article 985 — expungement by redaction

2. Record Reviewed

3. Arrest Without Conviction — Article 976

A person may move to expunge a felony or misdemeanor arrest that did not result in
conviction when:

• Prosecution was not instituted and the limitations period now bars prosecution;
• The district attorney declined prosecution, including after completed diversion;
• The proceeding ended by dismissal, a sustained motion to quash, or acquittal; or
• A court found factual innocence and entitlement to wrongful-conviction compensation.

A DWI arrest resolved through pretrial diversion cannot be expunged until five years
after the arrest.

Finding: [Identify the qualifying paragraph, disposition record, and applicable date.]

4. Misdemeanor Conviction — Article 977

Select the applicable route:

☐ The conviction was set aside and prosecution dismissed under Article 894(B).

☐ More than five years have elapsed since completion of the sentence, deferred
adjudication, or probation or parole; the client had no felony conviction during that
five-year period and has no pending felony charge.

The five-year route requires a district attorney certification verifying no felony
conviction during the period and no pending felony charge under a bill of information
or indictment.

The following are excluded:

• A misdemeanor arising from circumstances involving or resulting from an arrest for
  a sex offense, subject to the interim-expungement provision;

• Domestic abuse battery; and

• Stalking.

Article 977(D) separately permits a motion 90 days after a first conviction for
possession of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, or chemical derivatives.

Finding: [State the route, completion date, certification status, and exclusion
analysis.]

5. Felony Conviction — Article 978

Select the applicable route:

☐ The conviction was set aside and prosecution dismissed under Article 893(E).

☐ More than ten years have elapsed since completion of the sentence, deferred
adjudication, or probation or parole; the client had no other criminal conviction during
the ten years before filing and has no pending criminal charge.

☐ The client is entitled to a first-offender pardon, and the offense is neither a crime of
violence nor a sex offense.

The ten-year route requires a district attorney certification verifying no conviction
during the ten years before filing and no pending charge under a bill of information or
indictment.

Article 978(B) excludes:

• A crime of violence, except as Article 978(E) authorizes;

• A sex offense or criminal offense against a minor, subject to the stated historical
  exception;

• A controlled-dangerous-substance offense outside Article 978(B)(3)'s listed
  exceptions; and

• Domestic abuse battery.

After a contradictory hearing, Article 978(E) permits relief for aggravated battery,
second degree battery, aggravated criminal damage to property, simple robbery, purse
snatching, or illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities if more than ten
years have passed after completion, no other criminal conviction occurred during that
period, and no charge is pending.

Article 978(F) permits more than one eligible felony conviction to be expunged in a
ten-year period.

Finding: [State the route, dates, certifications, and exclusion analysis.]

6. Interim Expungement — Article 985.1

An interim motion applies when the original felony arrest resulted in a misdemeanor
conviction. It removes only the original felony arrest entry and does not expunge the
misdemeanor conviction.

The motion is not subject to the five- or ten-year waits in Articles 977(A)(2) and
978(A)(2), and there is no numerical limit on interim expungements. The current statute
does not impose a 90-day wait.

Finding: [Confirm the original felony arrest, misdemeanor disposition, and records
to be removed.]

7. Redaction — Article 985

When one record names multiple people and the client alone is entitled to relief, the
court may redact the client's name and identifying information. The remaining record
stays publicly accessible.

Finding: [Identify each record location and the exact information to redact.]

8. Required Form and Attachments

Article 986 requires the statutory forms. Article 989 identifies the applicable
attachments:

☐ Article 989 Motion for Expungement or Article 994 Motion for Interim Expungement

☐ Criminal background check from Louisiana State Police or parish sheriff dated
within the past 60 days

☐ Bill of information, if any

☐ Minute entry showing final disposition, if any

☐ District attorney certification for the applicable conviction route

☐ Article 988 fee-exemption certification, if eligible

☐ District attorney refusal or diversion certification, if applicable

☐ First-offender pardon, if applicable

☐ Registration-waiver or factual-innocence order, if applicable

☐ Article 993 supplemental sheet, if necessary

9. Costs — Article 983

The total processing cost may not exceed $550, and the clerk collects applicable
nonrefundable fees at filing. If two or more offenses arose from the same arrest, only
one Article 983 fee is required.

Article 983(F) waives fees for specified arrest-only cases when the district attorney
certifies that the applicant has no felony convictions and no pending felony charges and
the qualifying disposition or identity-victim condition is met. Other exemptions include
eligible expedited expungements, factual innocence, qualifying pardons other than an
automatic first-offender pardon, and certified human-trafficking-victim applications.
A qualifying applicant outside specified exemptions may seek in forma pauperis status.

Finding: ☐ Fee due: $[________] ☐ Statutory exemption ☐ In forma pauperis
application

10. Service and Hearing — Articles 979-980

The clerk—not the mover—serves the motion by United States mail or electronically on:

• The district attorney of the parish of conviction;
• The Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information; and
• The arresting law-enforcement agency.

An agency ordinarily has 60 days after service to file an affidavit stating its reasons
for objection. The court may extend that period by no more than 30 days. A timely
objection requires a contradictory hearing; the objecting agency bears the burden by a
preponderance of the evidence.

If no agency objects, the mover may waive the contradictory hearing, and the court must
grant relief if the mover is legally entitled to it.

11. Effect — Articles 971 and 973

Expungement removes the record from public access but does not destroy it. The record
remains confidentially available for the uses and to the entities Article 973 authorizes,
including specified criminal-justice and licensing functions.

Except as Article 973 permits, the client is not required to disclose the expunged arrest,
conviction, or expungement. The record may still be used as a predicate offense or for
other authorized criminal-justice purposes.

Part B — Article 989 Preparation Worksheet

Transfer this information to the current statutory Article 989 form.

Requested Custodians

Filing Checklist

☐ Confirm the client is not in physical Department of Public Safety and Corrections
custody serving a hard-labor sentence; Article 975 bars filing in that circumstance.

☐ Use Article 989, or Article 994 for an interim motion.

☐ Attach a background check dated within 60 days and all route-specific documents.

☐ Confirm the clerk serves every Article 979 entity.

☐ Calendar the 60-day objection period and any authorized extension.

☐ If there is no objection, prepare a waiver of contradictory hearing consistent with
Article 980.

☐ Use the Article 992 order and identify every agency to be affected.

☐ Confirm service of the signed judgment under Article 982.

☐ Retain a certified copy of the order for any Article 974 third-party notice.

Official Sources

• Article 971 — Legislative findings
• Article 972 — Definitions
• Article 973 — Effect of expungement
• Article 974 — Third-party dissemination
• Article 975 — Custody bar
• Article 976 — Arrest without conviction
• Article 977 — Misdemeanor conviction
• Article 978 — Felony conviction
• Article 979 — Clerk service
• Article 980 — Objections and hearing
• Article 982 — Service of judgment
• Article 983 — Costs and exemptions
• Article 985 — Redaction
• Article 985.1 — Interim expungement
• Article 986 — Required forms
• Article 989 — Motion for Expungement form
• Article 992 — Order of Expungement form
• Article 994 — Interim motion form