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Florida: Juvenile Court Records and Law Enforcement Records (FL-AR-2)
Records relating to an arrest or filing of charges for an offense committed while the person was a victim of human trafficking can be expunged upon petition, so long as the person is not subject to a disqualifying event. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583.
Record Detail(s)
Human trafficking offenses
Previous Conviction Disqualifying
Potentially, see statute
Mandatory / Discretionary
Discretionary
Hearing
No statutory language
Clearance Process
Petition-based
Remedy
Expunge
Ineligible Category or Citation
For the list of offenses ineligible for sealing under this column, see section 775.084(1)(b). Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(3).
Procedure General
The petition does not need to be filed in the court where the petitioner's criminal proceedings originally occurred. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(2). For specific information about the procedure, see Fla. Stat. § 943.0583.
Fees
The clerk of the court may not charge a filing fee, service charge, or copy fee or any other charge for a petition filed under this section.
Effect
A conviction that was expunged for a victim of human trafficking is deemed to have been vacated due to a substantive defect in the underlying criminal proceedings. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(3).
Any criminal history record of a minor victim of human trafficking that is ordered expunged as a must be physically destroyed or obliterated by any criminal justice agency having custody of such record, except that any criminal history record in the custody of the department of law enforcement must be retained in all cases. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(8)(a).
The person who is the subject of a criminal history record that is expunged due to being a victim of human trafficking can lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the expunged record, except when the person is a candidate for employment with a criminal justice agency or a defendant in a criminal prosecution. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(8)(b).
For further information about the effect of expungement, see Fla. Stat. § 943.0583.
Waiting Periods
The petition must be filed with due diligence after the victim has ceased to be a victim of human trafficking or has sought services for victims of human trafficking, subject to reasonable concerns for the safety of the victim, family members of the victim, or other victims of human trafficking that may be jeopardized by the bringing of such petition. Fla. Stat. § 943.0583(4).
