Indiana Felony Expungement
Felony sentencing
As of 2015, Felonies are divided up into seven categories with level 6 being the lowest level and level 1 and murder being the most serious. Prior to 2015, you may have a Class A,B, C, or D felony al of which can be eligible for expungement. Duepner Law LLC has completed an expungement for every type of Indiana felony.
Level 6 Felony: It carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between six (6) months and two and one half (2 1/2) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00. In certain instances, when a person is convicted of a Level 6 felony, the Court may nonetheless enter judgment and conviction as a Class A misdemeanor.
Level 5 Felony: A Level 5 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between one (1) year and six (6) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
Level 4 Felony: A Level 4 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between two (2) and twelve (12) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
Level 3 Felony: A Level 3 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between three (3) and sixteen (16) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
Level 2 Felony: A Level 2 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between twenty (10) and thirty (30) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
Level 1 Felony: A Level 1 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between twenty (20) and forty (40) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00
Murder: The sentence for a murder conviction is a fixed term between forty-five (45) and sixty-five (65) years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00. Life Sentences and the death penalty are also available under Indiana law.
Felony expungements in Indiana are broken down into three categories.
Sex crimes, murder and homicide cases, and violent offenders are not expunge-able!
1. Class D or Level 6 felony expungements I.C. 35-38-9-3
This class applies to all D felonies and future Level 6 felonies with a few exceptions; common excepts would include if your case resulted in bodily injury to another person. It does matter whether you believe the person was injured, it matters if you were convicted of it. Other common exceptions would include sex crimes, violent offenses, perjury and official misconduct. There are other less common exceptions and our attorneys will be glad to assess your case on an individual basis. A very high percentage of D felony case that we assess are eligible under this statute.
If your case falls under this code section and all the requirements have been met, The court is obligated to grant your expungement. The language in the Order is critical to get the governmental agencies to comply. Once the agencies receive your well drafted and Judge signed order they will begin to remove the entire case from their databases. All of your civil rights will be restored immediately if they had been stripped previously based on the expunged case. For other requirements and information see the general expungement page.
2. Class A-C felony expungements Less serious I.C. 35-38-9-4
This class applies to all A-C felonies with a few exceptions; common excepts would include if your case resulted in “serious” bodily injury to another person. It does matter whether you believe the person was injured, it matters if you were convicted of it. Other common exceptions would include sex crimes, violent offenses, and official misconduct. There are other less common exceptions and our attorneys will be glad to assess your case on an individual basis. The requirements to expunge this level of felony are a little stricter and the major difference is the Court now has discretion whether to grant of deny you. This is based on your individual situation. You are more likely to have a hearing with this level of expungement. In our experience judges are still highly likely to grant the expungement even though they now have the ability to deny it and we have had many of these granted from A felony dealing cases to burglary and armed robbery. Another difference is under this level, your case will only be marked as expunged and not completely removed. You still will have all the benefits as any other type of expungement.
3. Class A-C felony expungement Serious I.C. 35-38-9-5
This class is for other felonies that did not fall within the other categories and are not automatically excluded such as sex crimes. Not many cases fall in this category and often times it is a case that involves serious bodily injury. The requirement are more strict and you must have prosecutor consent to file under this section. If granted your case will be marked as expunged and you will get all the benefits of the expungement as previously mentioned. Prosecutor consent can be difficult to get depending on the county. Duepner Law has successfully expunged cases under this section. For more requirements see the general expungement page.