sealed or expunged records

[OhioMike]

Current Ohio law forces a Sherrif to look at ALL records when considering the issuance
of a CCW... Juvenile, Misdemeanor Drug, Sealed, Expunged

If you have your record "Sealed" this will change in a little over 3 months from now

Happy... Happy... Joy... Joy...

[willbird]

There are no longer any expungements in Ohio are there Mike ??

They only seal records now ?

Bill

[OhioMike]

All I know is what my experience reflects. As of about 1 1/2 years ago Ohio
only granted "Sealed Records" and no Expungements

I always wondered how/why Ohio ended up with such strange laws pertaining
to Expungements and Gun Laws when all the other States do not have such laws

[SMMAssociates]

Mike:

I hate to give the poison pill folks the credit, but it could have been just one more way to keep the counts down, and it basically meant that any crime of a certain type would make you permanently ineligible. Get popped for walking by an enumerated CPZ, for example....

It's also possible that it's just a typo, sort of. It appears that you're supposed to explicitly say "but not the sealed stuff" when requiring background checks, and somebody forgot.

I'm convinced that nobody but us reads these things anyway....

Regards,

[willbird]

All I know is what my experience reflects. As of about 1 1/2 years ago Ohio
only granted "Sealed Records" and no Expungements

I always wondered how/why Ohio ended up with such strange laws pertaining
to Expungements and Gun Laws when all the other States do not have such laws

I seem to recall from some prior discussion here on OFCC that the "sealed" vs "expunged" came about as usual from a pivotal case.

This is very common, not they like to NAME laws for the person whose case lead to the law "Megan's Law" being one example.

Bill

[QuantumQuip]

As one who has gone through the process, I can attest to the fact that you can legally buy a gun in Ohio after having your record sealed. After my record was sealed (M-1 Tampering with Records and F-5 Unauthorized Use of a Computer), my attorney informed me that I was no longer under weapons disability. Fast forward to a year later, I went to a particular gun store and was able to purchase a new handgun. I had to wait about 15 minutes for the background check to come back, but it cleared, and I was good to go. And yes, you check "no" for the questions on the 4473 form that ask about prior felony convictions. Even page 5 under "Exceptions" of this form instructs applicants to do the same. So, be sure to read page 5 of the 4473 form regarding sealed, expunged, or pardoned convictions. You can legally answer "no" for prior felony convictions and not be deemed a liar. The form does not ask if the applicant if they have an expunged or sealed record. Part of the purpose of having a record sealed is that you can legally answer "no" to questions about prior convictions.

Now the downside to a sealed record and finding a job is that private background check companies will still find your record from websites that "crawled" your record before it was expunged. You'll need to provide a notarized copy to whatever private background check company in order to remove this information from their website.

Previously, an expunged record in Ohio meant to seal it. Recently, there has been a change that will allow for a true expungement to have the record deleted, destroyed, irretrievable after 10 years by a court following completion of sentence, probation, and final case discharge. Does anyone know the benefit or advantage of having a record expunged vs. sealed in Ohio? I understand that the general purpose of expungement is to have the record permanently destroyed and irretrievable, whereas a sealed record is simply "sealed" and not available to the public. But, how will finding a job with an expungement improve the chances of obtaining more gainful employment?

Would a person be able to work in the medical field and get state licensure with an expunged record vs. a sealed record?

[JustaShooter]

As one who has gone through the process, I can attest to the fact that you can legally buy a gun in Ohio after having your record sealed. After my record was sealed (M-1 Tampering with Records and F-5 Unauthorized Use of a Computer), my attorney informed me that I was no longer under weapons disability.

Something to note, neither of your convictions would place you under firearm disability under Ohio or Federal law since neither meets the definition of a disqualifying offense.

Of note, the word "felony" doesn't appear in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), instead Federal law says a person "convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" is a prohibited person.

Ohio law says in ORC 2923.13 you are prohibited if you are "under indictment for or has been convicted of any felony offense of violence ..."

Ohio F5 imposes sentences of up to 12 months, which does not exceed one year, and Unauthorized Use of a Computer is not an offense of violence.
Ohio M1 is a maximum of 180 days.

So in reality, you should never have been under firearm disability for those convictions (though there could have been a condition of parole.)

[QuantumQuip]

It might seem at first glance that my convictions would not impact a disability under Ohio and federal law; however, the guns I possessed at the time of the charges were seized by the police for safekeeping. At the conclusion of my case, since the guns were not subject to any forfeiture claims by the court, they were given to a family member to hold for safekeeping.

I know that the language used on the sheriff's CCW application form asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of any felony, which I assume includes a nonviolent F-5 Unauthorized Use charge. In this particular instance, I can check "no" since the same CCW form makes exceptions for sealed and expunged records. Prior to my successful court hearing to seal my record (I couldn't get it expunged due to not meeting the 10 year requirement), I would have had to check "yes" if I had applied.

In any event, does anyone know the benefits of obtaining an expunged record (where it is destroyed, deleted, and irretrievable) versus a sealed record (not available to the public)? Does this open opportunities for careers in the medical field or public service, or will it make no difference whatsoever?

[JustaShooter]

In any event, does anyone know the benefits of obtaining an expunged record (where it is destroyed, deleted, and irretrievable) versus a sealed record (not available to the public)? Does this open opportunities for careers in the medical field or public service, or will it make no difference whatsoever?

As I understand it, in Ohio expungement is limited to a very small set of circumstances (and if I recall correctly, mostly juvenile offenses) so I don't think that is something you can pursue based on what I know about your situation.

[QuantumQuip]

Thanks for responding and you correct regarding the expungement rules that existed prior to 2023. Previously, expungement only applied to dismissed cases, no bills, and juvenile records. However, the passage of Ohio SB288 in 2023 expands the types of offenses and convictions that may now be expunged (as opposed to just sealed). For this reason, there is a mandatory waiting period of 10 years (some sources say 11 years) before the expungement process can get underway.

Here are a few sources regarding the new expungement law:

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/sta ... 180578007/

https://lasclev.org/05262023-2/

My only uncertainty in the matter is what benefit will come as a result of an expungement vs. a sealed record.

[JustaShooter]

I appreciate the update, I had missed that change.

I can't think of any benefit since only certain entities can access sealed records, and even then only for specific purposes. But I'm not an expert so take that for what it's worth.