As of September 1, 2003, a new law has authorized the filing of Petitions For
Non-Disclosure in many cases where a person has successfully completed
Deferred Adjudication Probation. If granted, law enforcement agencies are ordered
not to divulge information regarding the probation, or the arrest that is
associated with it, to the general public. It can still be divulged to other law
enforcement agencies and to some governmental agencies. There is likewise a civil
penalty for agencies that compile and disseminate for compensation criminal
history record information if they disseminate information covered by the
order. However, this law is so new, we are unable to say how effective this
provision will be since many of these agencies are headquartered outside the United
States. This order is by no means perfect but is a major step in the right
direction. Legally, once this order is granted a client can deny the existence of
an arrest or probation except if the information is being used against that
person in a subsequent criminal proceeding.
   
There are many exclusions and waiting periods for eligibility. For felonies,
the waiting period is 5 years from the conclusion of the probation. For
misdemeanors including sex, weapons, and assaultive offenses, the waiting period is
2 years from the conclusion of the probation. Many other misdemeanors are
eligible immediately upon conclusion of the probation (for example thefts, drugs,
criminal mischief). For any offense with a waiting period, to be eligible,
the person cannot have been convicted or placed on deferred adjudication for any
offense (other than a traffic case) during the waiting period.
 
Persons are never eligible if the deferred adjudication probation was for an
offense requiring registration as a sex offender or involved family violence
or included the following:  murder; capital murder; aggravated kidnapping;
injury to a child, elderly, or disabled individual; violation of a protective
order or Magistrates order; or stalking.
 
The fee for seeking such an order is $700 including filing fees. Generally
the order, if it is granted, will be granted within about 30 days of filing.
There is no specific time cited by the law as the deadline for compliance with
the order but we hope that compliance will occur relatively soon after the order
is transmitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety.