Art. 978. Motion to expunge record of arrest and conviction of a felony offense

A. Except as provided in Paragraph B of this Article, a person may file a motion to expunge his record of arrest and conviction of a felony offense if either of the following apply:

(1) The conviction was set aside and the prosecution was dismissed pursuant to Article 893(E).

(2) More than ten years have elapsed since the person completed any sentence, deferred adjudication, or period of probation or parole based on the felony conviction, and the person has not been convicted of any other criminal offense during the ten-year period, and has no criminal charge pending against him. The motion filed pursuant to this Subparagraph shall include a certification obtained from the district attorney which verifies that, to his knowledge, the applicant has no convictions during the ten-year period and no pending charges under a bill of information or indictment.

B. No expungement shall be granted nor shall a person be permitted to file a motion to expunge the record of arrest and conviction of a felony offense if the person was convicted of the commission or attempted commission of any of the following offenses:

(1) A crime of violence as defined by or enumerated in R.S. 14:2(B), unless otherwise authorized in Paragraph E of this Article.

(2)(a) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 893, a sex offense or a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor as each term is defined by R.S. 15:541, or any offense which occurred prior to June 18, 1992, that would be defined as a sex offense or a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor had it occurred on or after June 18, 1992.

(b) Any person who was convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile (R.S. 14:80) prior to August 15, 2001, is eligible for an expungement pursuant to the provisions of this Title if the offense for which the offender was convicted would be defined as misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile (R.S. 14:80.1) had the offender been convicted on or after August 15, 2001. The burden is on the mover to establish that the elements of the offense of conviction are equivalent to the current definition of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile as defined by R.S. 14:80.1. A copy of the order waiving the sex offender registration and notification requirements issued pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 15:542(F) shall be sufficient to meet this burden.

(3) A violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, except for any of the following which may be expunged pursuant to the provisions of this Title:

(a) A conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance as provided for in R.S. 40:966(C), 967(C), 968(C), or 969(C), or 970(C).

(b) A conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute.

(c) A conviction for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than five years.

(d) A conviction for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law which may be expunged pursuant to Article 893(E).

(4) The conviction was for domestic abuse battery.

C. The motion to expunge a record of arrest and conviction of a felony offense shall be served pursuant to the provisions of Article 979.

D. Expungement of a record of arrest and conviction of a felony offense shall occur only once with respect to any person during a fifteen-year period. The limitation provided in this Paragraph shall not apply to a person who is seeking the expungement of his record of arrest and conviction for a conviction that was set aside and the prosecution dismissed pursuant to Article 893(E).

E.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, after a contradictory hearing, the court may order the expungement of the arrest and conviction records of a person pertaining to a conviction of aggravated battery, second degree battery, aggravated criminal damage to property, simple robbery, purse snatching, or illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities if all of the following conditions are proven by the petitioner:

(a) More than ten years have elapsed since the person completed any sentence, deferred adjudication, or period of probation or parole based on the felony conviction.

(b) The person has not been convicted of any other criminal offense during the ten-year period.

(c) The person has no criminal charge pending against him.

(d) The person has been employed for a period of ten consecutive years.

(2) The motion filed pursuant to this Paragraph shall include a certification from the district attorney which verifies that, to his knowledge, the applicant has no convictions during the ten-year period and no pending charges under a bill of information or indictment. The motion shall be heard by contradictory hearing as provided by Article 980.

Acts 2014, No. 145, §1; Acts 2015, No. 151, §1, eff. June 23, 2015; Acts 2015, No. 200, §1; Acts 2016, No. 125, §1, eff. May 19, 2016; Acts 2018, No. 678, §1.