Walk It Through: A Record, and What Comes Off It
Sealing, a certificate, and the check that still reports it.
The case ended two years ago. The fine was never fully paid.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
Eligibility turns on the exact offense, its degree and the whole record rather than on any single rule, and Senate Bill 288 rewrote much of this area. Which positions require a check, which of those checks reach a sealed record, and how expungement differs from sealing in what survives are each set by their own statutes and are not resolved here. Nothing on this page says what a particular record will do to a particular application.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
12 words · tap one for its definition
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Clear and convincing evidenceA standard of proof higher than the balance of probabilities used in an ordinary civil case and lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Ohio uses it for civil commitment and for forfeiture, among other things.
- Community controlCourt supervision imposed instead of a prison term, with conditions set by the court. Ohio replaced the word probation with this term for felony sentencing.
- Final releaseThe end of parole the adult parole authority may grant to a parolee who has faithfully performed the conditions, with a certificate of final release, not earlier than one year after release on parole, or five years for a life sentence.
- Post release controlSupervision by the adult parole authority after a prison term, required for some degrees and discretionary for others. Violations can carry additional prison time.
- Prima facieEstablished unless something is shown against it. Where a speed limit is prima facie, exceeding it makes out the violation and leaves room to show the speed was reasonable and proper for the conditions.
- Qualified immunityA defense protecting an official sued individually unless the right they violated was clearly established at the time, meaning existing precedent had put the question beyond debate.
- DegreeThe classification every Ohio offense carries, from minor misdemeanor up to felony of the first degree. The degree sets the available range before anyone looks at the facts.
- Final dischargeRelease from parole or probation, which is the event a juvenile sealing application is measured from. A person under eighteen may apply six months after it, and a person eighteen or older may apply immediately after it.
- Hard timeA period at the start of a suspension during which no court may grant limited driving privileges. Its length is set by which suspension it is.
- Intervention in lieu of convictionA statutory route where a court may stay the case and order treatment for an eligible defendant whose offense was related to a substance use disorder. Successful completion results in dismissal.
- Minor misdemeanorThe bottom rung of the Ohio code. No jail term at all, a fine capped at one hundred and fifty dollars, and a section that says an officer shall issue a citation rather than arrest unless one of four exceptions applies.
- Sealing and expungementStatutory routes to restrict or destroy the record of a case. Sealing closes the record to most viewers; expungement is the destruction of it. Eligibility depends on the offense and on time elapsed.