Getting Your Criminal History (CCH) Corrected
The Michigan State Police maintains your criminal history in Michigan. Cases closed without a conviction are not supposed to be a public record.
Arrest or charge on your record? If you weren’t convicted, it can be removed.
Criminal cases that are closed without a conviction are not supposed to be on your public record; however, closed cases frequently appear in public records searches because the information collected by MSP is incomplete or inaccurate. If the closure of a case is not reported accurately, MSP will not remove the record, and it will be open for public view indefinitely. Cases closed with a conviction remain on a person’s criminal history. Here is what you need to know to correct your criminal history in Michigan.
How Reporting of a Criminal History in Michigan is Supposed to Work
When someone is arrested for a felony, misdemeanor (punishable by 93 days or more), or a juvenile offense, the law enforcement agency must report that individual’s biometric data (fingerprints) to the Michigan State Police. When a conviction, acquittal, dismissal (also called nolle prosequi), plea of guilty or no contest, or other disposition is entered, Michigan law requires the court to send that information to the Michigan State Police. MSP should update the criminal history according to the court’s disposition.
Records that permanently stay on a criminal history by law include (unless expunged):
- Pending cases with a bench warrant issued
- Finding of guilty but mentally ill
- Finding of guilty by a jury or bench trial
- Pleading guilty or nolo contendere or no contest
- Finding of guilt for a PPO violation
- Adjudication of guilt in a juvenile proceeding
- What about everything else? It should be removed!
Dismissals and Acquittals are Supposed to Be Removed
Under Michigan law, when a person is released without a charge and not charged within a reasonable period (usually 12 months), the fingerprints and arrest card are supposed to be destroyed and erased from the person’s criminal history. The same is true for charges that are not authorized against a juvenile. If a person is found “not guilty” or charges are dismissed (nolle prosequi), the biometric data and arrest card must be destroyed. In reality, this rarely happens, and arrests frequently stay on criminal records. Now that a person’s criminal history in Michigan is so easy to get from public records, arrests that did not result in a conviction are routinely used to discriminate against job applicants, students, professionals, parents in divorce proceedings, immigrants, and much more.
Under Advisements, Expungements, and Delayed Sentences
Under Michigan law, a case taken under advisement, like HYTA, 7411, or 769.4a, should not appear on a criminal history unless a violation of probation and a subsequent conviction is entered. Convictions with a delayed sentence, even if the case is scheduled to be dismissed at the end of probation, do appear on a criminal history; however, convictions for cases later dismissed after a delayed sentence should be removed from the public records. An expunged conviction should not appear at all on any public record.
What happens if a court does not report the information or it is reported inaccurately?
Unfortunately, court clerks routinely enter information in their computers that is either incorrect or does not match the data entered upon arrest. If the original data was entered inaccurately by the police station and then an update is entered correctly by a court clerk, the criminal history will not be removed. The most common reason arrests improperly stay on a person’s criminal history is inaccurate record reporting. The Michigan State Police will not remove records unless the codes, information, and identifying data match precisely. When simple errors are routinely made, offenses are improperly reported and included on criminal history records. You do not have to live with an arrest on your record because there is a process to remove it.
Want to remove an arrest from your criminal history in Michigan?
The law is clear on what arrests should be removed from a person’s criminal history in Michigan, however, the Michigan State Police and courts are usually not very helpful with correcting these records. Most criminal defense lawyers in Michigan have no idea how the law works in this highly technical and specialized area. If you want help to remove an arrest from your criminal history in Michigan, please call for a free consultation with LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. We will find a way to help you correct your criminal history in Michigan.
Call us today at (248) 263-6800 for a free consultation or complete an online Request for Assistance Form. We will contact you promptly and find a way to help you.