New Law Allows for Expungement of Terminated Protective Orders
Imagine being the subject of a protection order that was terminated or dismissed, but still seeing your name on a protection order registry or other searchable database? While Indiana law has allowed people to expunge criminal records for some time, prior to July 1, 2019, a person could not expunge records related to protective orders, even if those orders were later dismissed. Protective orders and no contact orders are reported to various law enforcement agencies and are searchable by the public on the protective order registry.
Indiana has a new law that allows persons named as subject of a protective order to petition to expungement if:
(1) A protection order was issued to the plaintiff, but was subsequently terminated due to the:
(A) dismissal of the petition before a court hearing on the protection order; (B) denial of the protection order upon the order of the court; or (C) failure of the plaintiff to appear to the court hearing on the protection order.
(2) A protection order was reversed or vacated by an appellate court.
The law requires the petition for expungement to contain very specific information and the Court will generally hold a hearing to determine whether the expungement should be granted. It is important to be represented by an attorney who has experience in defending against protective orders and handling expungements.
Benefits of Expunging a Dismissed or Terminated Protective Order
A person whose protective order record is expunged is ordered to be treated as if the protection order had never been filed; and may answer truthfully to a question from the petitioner’s employer or prospective employer that a petition or order of protection has never been filed against the petitioner.
If you have been the subject of a protective order and want the records related to the protective order expunged, call Gibson Law Office. With offices in Lafayette, Bloomington, Anderson, and Fort Wayne, our attorneys represent clients statewide.
