(1) A court shall issue an order of expungement, without the filing of a petition, for all records of the case that are held by the court and the bureau if:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 77-40a-206

  • Acquittal:
    1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. A verdict of "not guilty."
     
  • Agency: means a state, county, or local government entity that generates or maintains records relating to an investigation, arrest, detention, or conviction for an offense for which expungement may be ordered. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Bureau: means the Bureau of Criminal Identification of the Department of Public Safety established in Section 53-10-201. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
  • Court: means a district court or a justice court. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
  • Expunge: means to seal or otherwise restrict access to the individual's record held by an agency when the record includes a criminal investigation, detention, arrest, or conviction. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
     (1)(a) on and after October 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2026, the individual submitted a form requesting expungement of a case as described in Section 77-40a-204; and
     (1)(b) the case is eligible for expungement under this section.
(2) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a case is eligible for expungement under this section if:

     (2)(a)

          (2)(a)(i) the case resulted in an acquittal on all charges; and
          (2)(a)(ii) at least 60 days have passed after the day on which the case resulted in an acquittal; or
     (2)(b)

          (2)(b)(i) the case is dismissed with prejudice; and
          (2)(b)(ii) at least 180 days have passed after the day on which:

               (2)(b)(ii)(A) for a case in which no appeal was filed, the entire case against the individual is dismissed with prejudice; or
               (2)(b)(ii)(B) for a case in which an appeal was filed, a court issues a final nonappealable order.
(3) A case is not eligible for expungement under Subsection (2) if:

     (3)(a) the case resulted in an acquittal because the individual is found not guilty by reason of insanity; or
     (3)(b) the case is dismissed with prejudice as a result of successful completion of a plea in abeyance agreement governed by Subsection 77-2a-3(2)(b).
(4) If a court issues an order of expungement under Subsection (1), the court shall:

     (4)(a) expunge all records of the case held by the court as described in Section 77-40a-401; and
     (4)(b) notify the bureau and the prosecuting agency identified in the case, based on information available to the court, of the order of expungement.