Are Domestic Violence Expungements Possible?

Hey, what’s up? I’m attorney Derek Gray of McMinn, Logan & Gray. We are a criminal law firm located here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This is our FAQ series. So I like to answer questions that we get a lot during consultations and this week’s question deals with domestic violence and expungements. So let’s go through the question – Can you expunge a domestic violence conviction from your criminal record in Winston-Salem, North Carolina?

So first and foremost, let’s actually start with the law. The law in North Carolina is North Carolina General Statute 15A-145.5. And that will reflect some of the expungements you can do for certain misdemeanors and felony convictions. The long and short of it is no.

If you get convicted of a domestic violence offense in North Carolina, statute 145.5 precludes you from getting any sort of assaultive behavior expunged off of your record. So technically, there are charges that may fall under domestic violence that are expungable, but inherent in my use of that term of domestic violence is some sort of assaultive nature criminal offense, which is precluded under 145.5. So, again, the long and short of it is, is no, you’re not going to be able to get that charge off your record. It’s going to be stuck with you. However, I would advise you to consult an attorney. I’ve had some success doing some things that can help people get their records cleaned up, even in the light of domestic violence charges. But more than likely, no, it’s not coming off the record.