Expungement of DUIs in Kansas

Expungement of DUI convictions in Kansas

Generally, under Kansas law expungements are permissible so long as the statutory requirements for expungement are met. However, specific crimes are listed in the expungement statutes as NOT subject to expungement. The crime of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is one such crime.

However, there is a loophole. The expungement law in Kansas was amended to add DUIs to the list of offenses not subject to expungement; the amendment went into effect on July 1, 2006. The ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution forbids passing laws punishing crimes retroactively, that is, after they were committed. There is Kansas caselaw which states that applying the new expungement statute retroactively to DUI crimes commited BEFORE July 1, 2006 violates the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution. Accordingly, if the incident giving rise to the DUI charge occurred before July 1, 2006, the DUI is subject to expungement.

However, you must still convince a judge that the statutory requirements for expungement have been met prior to filing the petition for expungement. Moreover, you must convince a judge that the expungement of the crime in your specific situation is in the furtherance of the public interest. With DUI charges in particular, this is often very difficult to do. Prosecutors are very reluctant to consent to DUI expungements for polital and public policy reasons and often will oppose them even when they believe your particular case for expungment is meritorious. Generally, the odds of convincing a judge that your expungement would further the public interest are far greater if you hire an experienced attorney to craft and present your case to the judge in a professional manner.