West Virginia Code 61-11-26a – Expungement of certain criminal convictions with approved treatment or recovery and job program
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of § 61-11-26 of this code to the contrary, any person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony offense or multiple misdemeanors and that would be eligible for expungement pursuant to the provisions of § 61-11-26 of this code and who: (1) Has a medically documented history of substance abuse and of successful compliance with a substance abuse treatment or recovery and counseling program approved by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources; or (2) graduates from a West Virginia Department of Education-approved job readiness adult training course, or both, if applicable, may petition the circuit court or circuit courts in which the conviction or convictions occurred for expungement of the conviction or convictions and the records associated therewith as provided in § 61-11-26 of this code as follows:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 61-11-26a
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) Any person who has been convicted of a single misdemeanor that would be eligible for expungement pursuant to § 61-11-26 of this code and satisfies the requirements of this section, is eligible for expungement pursuant to §61-11-26(a)(1) of this code upon successful compliance with an approved substance abuse treatment and recovery and counseling program for 90 days or upon completion of an approved job readiness adult training course, or both, if applicable, but after the completion of any sentence of incarceration or completion of any period of supervision, whichever is later in time.
(2) Any person who has been convicted of multiple misdemeanors that would be eligible for expungement pursuant to § 61-11-26 of this code and satisfies the requirements of this section is not eligible for expungement pursuant to §61-11-26(a)(1) of this code until one year after the last conviction, completion of any sentence of incarceration, or completion of any period of supervision ordered for the last conviction, whichever is later in time.
(3) Any person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony offense that would be eligible for expungement pursuant to § 61-11-26 of this code and satisfies the requirements of this section is not eligible for expungement pursuant to §61-11-26(a)(2) of this code until three years after conviction, completion of any sentence of incarceration, or completion of any period of supervision, whichever is later in time.
(b) In addition to the required content of a petition for expungement as required by §61-11-26(d) of this code, any person petitioning for an expungement pursuant to the provisions of this section shall also include the following, if applicable:
(1) Documentation of compliance with an approved treatment or recovery and counseling program; and
(2) Certificate of graduation from an approved job readiness adult training course.
(c) The fee of $100 to the records division of the West Virginia State Police for the cost of processing the order of expungement required in §61-11-26(n) of this code is waived for petitions of expungement filed pursuant to the provisions of this section.