Allen v. State
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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's petition for expungement, holding that because the trial court may have denied the petition on the erroneous belief that Ind. Code 35-38-9-4(b)(3) rendered Defendant ineligible for expungement, the case must be remanded.
Defendant pled guilty to Class B felony conspiracy to commit burglary. After Defendant completed all the terms of his probation without any violations and waiting the required three years he petitioned for expungement. The trial court denied the petition without explaining its reasoning. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a trial court may consider facts incident to the conviction when evaluating an expungement petition; and (2) a trial court should first determine whether the conviction is eligible for expungement and then whether it merits expungement; and (3) because the trial court did not articulate its reasons for denying Defendant's petition, the case is remanded with instructions for the court to reconsider its decision consistent with this opinion.
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