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Application For Sealing And Expungement Of Juvenile Records - Belmont County Court Of Commom Pleas

APPLICATION FOR

SEALING AND EXPUNGEMENT

OF JUVENILE RECORDS

See the Ohio Revised Code, §2151.356 (D) (2) and Juvenile Rule 34 (J)

Because you were charges with an offense as a juvenile, Ohio law allows you to have

your juvenile record sealed or expunged. The following is an explanation of the process

that you must follow to seal or expunge your record.

1) You may apply to this Juvenile Court for an order to seal your records six (6)

months after any order made by the Court has ended. If you have been placed in a

juvenile institution or other facility, you may not apply until six (6) months after you

have received an unconditional discharge from such institution or facility.

2) “Seal a record” means to remove a record from the main file of similar records

and to secure it in a separate file that contains only sealed records accessible only

to the Juvenile Court.

3) Applying to seal you record does not automatically mean that it will be sealed.

The Juvenile Court must find that you have been rehabilitated to a satisfactory

degree. If your offense was aggravated murder, murder or rape, your record cannot be

sealed.

4) If your record is sealed by the Juvenile Court and someone ask if you have a

record, you may properly reply that no record exists. If asked, the Court will also

reply that no record exists.

5) After your record has been sealed, your record will automatically be expunged

after a period of five (5) years or when you reach age twenty-three (23),

whichever occurs sooner. You may apply to the Juvenile Court to have your

sealed record expunged sooner.

6) How is “expunging” a record different from “sealing” a record? “Expunge a

record” means to destroy, delete, and erase a record, as appropriate for the

record’s physical or electronic form or characteristic. This means that the record

is permanently irretrievable. Your record MUST be sealed first before you can

apply for expungement.

7) Attached is an application to either seal or expunge your record. Upon your

completing this form, you will need to file this application with the Juvenile Court

Clerk’s Office at the Courthouse in St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio.

8) You may wish to read portions of the Ohio Revised Code, §2151.355; 2151.356;

2151.357 and 2151.358 for further details, available at most libraries and on the

internet.

J. MARK COSTINE

Juvenile Judge

11/02/12-Revised

Application For Sealing And Expungement Of Juvenile Records - Belmont County Court Of Commom Pleas