Almost daily I get some form of the following question… I got probation a while ago and I want to know how I can get it off my record. First, it must be determined what type of probation you received. There are two types of probation in Texas. “Regular Probation” is a conviction and can not be “cleared” from your record. Second, some deferred adjudications may be “cleared” from your record. The instrument used to “clear” a deferred adjudication from your record is called a Motion for Non Disclosure. Some deferred adjudications may be “cleared” immediately after sucessful completion. Others may take as long as five years and some are never eligible for a Motion for Non Disclosure. Please keep in mind that most government agencies will still be able to see that deferred.
There a lot of attorneys that tell their clients that a deferred adjudication is not a conviction. This is correct, but anyone with access to public records will find your deferred adjudication until you have your Motion for Non Disclosure granted by a court. Therefore, if possible get your Motion for Non Disclosure filed as soon as possible, if you are eligible.
This is an example where even a major news agency, the Associated Press, does not get the right terminology.
A former small-town South Texas mayor has reached a plea deal in a case of a purloined pooch.
Grace Saenz-Lopez pleaded no contest Tuesday to filing a false police report, a Class B misdemeanor. Under terms of the deal, she’ll pay a $300 fine and serve 48 hours of community service and two years’ probation.
The charge was a byproduct of a custody dispute with Saenz-Lopez’s neighbors over custody of the neighbors’ dog.
Saenz-Lopez had claimed that Puddles died last summer while she was pet-sitting for the neighbors. Three months later, however, a relative of the neighbors saw the dog, renamed Panchito, at a grooming business where the mayor had stashed him.
Saenz-Lopez insisted that Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos had neglected the animal, but state District Judge Richard Terrell in McAllen ordered her in April to return the dog.
Saenz-Lopez had faced two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence for hiding the dog with her sister and reporting it as missing.
Her sister, Gracy Garcia, was indicted on a count of concealing evidence. Those charges were dropped under the plea deal
