Expungement Petition and Eligibility Memo - Nebraska

NEBRASKA CRIMINAL-RECORD RELIEF ELIGIBILITY MEMO

1. ROUTE SUMMARY

Nebraska does not authorize sealing merely because an ordinary conviction was set aside.
Only a § 29-3005 sex-trafficking-victim set-aside supplies that sealing route.

2. SET-ASIDE ANALYSIS — § 29-2264

Eligibility branch

Petitioner may qualify after:

• satisfactory completion or early discharge from probation, plus payment of any fine
  and completion of community service;

• payment of a fine-only sentence;

• completion of a community-service sentence; or
• completion of another sentence that did not include imprisonment exceeding one year.

The previous pair's statement that any fully served sentence qualifies was too broad.

Additional bars for the completed-sentence branch

Relief must be denied if the petition is filed while a criminal charge is pending in a
United States or foreign court, while petitioner is required to register under the Sex
Offender Registration Act, for a misdemeanor or felony motor-vehicle offense under
§ 28-306 or the Nebraska Rules of the Road, or within two years after a prior subsection
(3) denial.

Discretionary decision

Eligibility does not require the court to grant relief. The court considers behavior after
sentencing, likelihood of no further criminal activity, and other relevant information. It
may grant only when the order is in the offender's best interest and consistent with public
welfare.

Effect

The order nullifies the conviction and removes civil disabilities and disqualifications
imposed because of it. It does not remove the public conviction record. Section 29-2264(6)
preserves the statute's listed later uses and consequences, including impeachment, later
sentencing or enhancement, specified licensing matters, registration matters, firearm-law
use, victims' civil actions, motor-vehicle points, and commercial-driver obligations.

Set-aside conclusion: [ELIGIBLE / INELIGIBLE / MORE FACTS REQUIRED].

3. NONCONVICTION PUBLIC-RECORD ANALYSIS — § 29-3523(3)

For qualifying dismissals or acquittals after December 31, 2016, Judicial Branch guidance
states sealing occurs automatically. Verify the actual public court and criminal-history
records before filing a motion.

4. CC 6:12 MOTION ROUTES — § 29-3523(4)–(6)

The court must grant a motion after finding:

☐ A conviction or adjudication was set aside under § 29-3005 because petitioner was a
sex-trafficking victim.

☐ Petitioner received a pardon.

☐ A case dismissed before January 1, 2017 falls within § 29-3523(3)(c).

An ordinary § 29-2264 set-aside is not enough.

5. SEALING EFFECT AND LIMITS

The subsection (7) order removes covered records and proceedings from public access,
sends notice to specified State and local criminal-justice entities, and directs notified
entities to seal their records. Criminal justice agencies retain access. Other exceptions
in subsections (1) and (2) remain, including current prosecution or correctional control,
public-office candidacy or service, a notarized release request, and authorized research.

A person generally cannot be questioned about a sealed offense in employment, bonding,
licensing, education, privilege, witness, or other public inquiries and may respond as if it
never occurred. The statute does not compel privately maintained websites or background
services to erase their data.

6. ERRONEOUS-ARREST EXPUNGEMENT

Section 29-3523(9) requires a separate petition in the district court of the arrest county,
names the county attorney as respondent, requires service, and places a clear-and-
convincing burden on petitioner to prove the arrest resulted from arresting-agency error.

This is the general statute's true expungement route. It should not be pleaded as an
alternative to a set-aside or ordinary record-sealing motion without supporting agency-
error facts.

7. REQUIRED FACT DEVELOPMENT

☐ Exact charge, conviction, and sentence documents.

☐ Sentence completion, fine-payment, community-service, and probation-discharge proof.

☐ Current pending-charge and registration status.

☐ Prior set-aside denial date, if any.

☐ Current criminal-history and court-record checks.

☐ Pardon or § 29-3005 order, if relied upon.

☐ Rehabilitation, employment, education, treatment, community, and collateral-
consequence evidence.

8. RECOMMENDATION

Recommended route and form: [§ 29-2264 / CC 6:11; § 29-3523 / CC 6:12;
§ 29-3523(9) petition; or no filing yet].

Filing court: [COURT / COUNTY].

Eligibility conclusion: [CONCLUSION].

Unresolved facts or risks: [DETAILS].

OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2264: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=29-2264
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-3523: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=29-3523
• Judicial Branch set-aside guidance and CC 6:11: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/criminal-record-rehabilitation/set-aside-criminal-conviction
• Judicial Branch adult-record sealing guidance and CC 6:12: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/criminal-record-rehabilitation/adult-record-sealing