Are expunged records erased and destroyed? NO

Expunged charges are still available for certain government and police purposes. It is important to clarify that expungement is not “forgiveness” for committing a crime—that is a legal pardon. Likewise, pardons are not expungements and do not require removal of a conviction from a criminal record. In the United States, pardons may be granted by public officials. The President, for example, issues pardons annually. State governors may also pardon certain defendants in their states. Expungement proceedings, however, must be ordered by a judge, or court. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/pu... A State Affair In the United States, virtually all expungement proceedings take place in state courts. Expungement orders from federal courts are extremely rare, and there is no federal statute governing its application at the federal level. Each state, however, has its own laws about whose records are eligible for expungement, which offenses may be expunged, procedures for application, and definitions of how records will be managed under an expungement order. Juvenile records are the most common, but many states also allow adult defendants to seek expungement of their records. In Kentucky, for example, an adult may petition the court for expungement of certain records. Maine and North Dakota, however, limit expungements to juveniles and other specific defendants. All states limit the types of offenses that may be expunged. Driving offenses, for example, may not be expunged from records in some states. Other serious offenses, including murder, kidnapping, and rape, may also be ineligible for expungement. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/pu... An expungement order concerns specific matters and specific courts, and nothing more. Expungement orders do not remove records from the press, Google, or social media, for example. It depends on the matter that is being expunged, but sometimes additional documentation about the matter exists outside of the court’s jurisdiction. Without additional legal actions, the court cannot expunge such things as news stories, social media posts, interviews, or, in some cases, arrest reports made by police departments outside the court’s purview. Basically, expungement orders cannot completely erase public record. A recent federal court decision from the Tenth Circuit, Nilson v. Layton City, explains: An expungement order does not privatize criminal activity. While it removes a particular arrest and/or conviction from an individual criminal record, the underlying object of expungement remains public. Court records and police blotters permanently document the expunged incident, and those officials integrally involved retain knowledge of the event. An expunged arrest and/or conviction is never truly removed from the public record and thus is not entitled to privacy protection. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/pu... So, while a person’s reasons for seeking expungement of a record, and a court’s reason for allowing expungement of a record, might, ultimately, include desires for privacy, it is important to realize that there are limitations. Courts are working daily to strike a balance between public record and expunged matter in today’s Information Age. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/pu...