How Long Does a DUI Stay on Your Record in Virginia?

Except in the situations outlined below, a DUI stays on your record forever in Virginia. Some people falsely believe that a DUI conviction falls off a criminal record after ten years. That belief is only partially true. After ten years, prosecutors cannot use a prior DUI conviction to enhance current charges (e.g. charging the matter as a second or third DUI instead of a first or second). However, unless one of the below exceptions applies, the conviction remains, and it remains visible to anyone who cares to look. As a result, the harsh indirect consequences of a DUI fade, but never disappear.

Because expunction or sealing is usually unavailable in DUI matters, a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer must assertively challenge the evidence at trial. Key evidence usually includes reliability, or lack thereof, of a chemical test. Legal issues, such as the legality, or lack thereof, of the law enforcement contact matter as well. If a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer chips away at the state’s evidence or identifies a legal defense, a successful resolution of a DUI case is just around the corner.

Executive Clemency

In most states, the governor has an absolute right to commute a sentence and/or pardon a defendant at any time. A commutation ends a prison or probation sentence. A pardon erases the incident from the defendant’s permanent record.

Unfortunately, Virginia’s executive clemency process includes a number of obstacles. Usually, the governor may only consider a pardon if prosecutors dismissed the DUI before trial, the trial court found the defendant not guilty, or an appeals court reversed that conviction.

The governor doesn’t consider DUI clemency applications in Virginia. Instead, the governor forwards these petitions to the Virginia Board of Pardons and Parole, which investigates the matter and makes a thumbs up or thumbs down recommendation to the governor. Technically, the governor may go against the recommendation, but that rarely happens.

If the governor denies the petition, the defendant may not resubmit it for another two years, even if the defendant meets the minimum qualifications. So, in these cases, it’s critical for a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer to get it right the first time.

A petition that only includes the minimum qualifications will almost certainly fail. Instead, the petition must explain why clemency is in the best interests of the defendant and the best interests of society. A probation officer’s approval often suffices.

Informal Expungement

Executive clemency is limited in DUI matters, but informal expunction (deferred disposition) is widely available, at least in most jurisdictions.

The defendant pleads guilty, but the judge doesn’t utter the magic words “I find you guilty.” Instead, the judge defers that portion of the proceeding until probation ends. If the defendant successfully (not perfectly) completes probation, the judge dismisses the case by operation of law. There’s no need to make a special request or file a petition.

Virginia’s expungement process usually leaves the arrest record intact. However, most employers, and most other people, only care about conviction records. If anyone asks questions, an explanation like “I hired a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer, and the lawyer took care of it” usually ends the inquiry.

Work With a Compassionate Loudoun County Lawyer

There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.

Source:

cjei.cornell.edu/fix-your-record/sealing-and-expungement/expungement/virginia-expungement