Expunging A Mistaken Arrest

Undoing What Shouldn’t Have Happened

This page provides links to Florida Case Law regarding sealing and expungements, in particular the administrative expungement process and procedure.

⚖ Expungement Case Law

The cases are listed below from the most recent to the earliest. A brief description follows. Citations were removed. Please refer to actual case for complete understanding.

Florida Seal and Expunge Case Law – Administrative Expungement

Administrative expungements are the yet undiscovered pearls of the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, very little review has occurred regarding these cases because few are attempted. This area of the law needs a lot more examination and effort.

Powell v. Scott, 13 F.L.W. Supp. 991a (20th Jud. Cir., July 18, 2006): Plaintiff petitioned the Defendant in writing to convene the special panel for the purpose of conducting an informal hearing on whether the arrest record should be administratively [expunged] because the arrest was alleged to be contrary to the law. Plaintiff has asserted that he was arrested contrary to the law and Defendant contends that whether an arrest is contrary to the law requires a determination of whether or not there was probable cause for such arrest. This Court does not decide the issue of whether the arrest was lawful or not since that matter is the subject of the informal panel sought to be convened by the Plaintiff under the aforementioned Florida Administrative Code. Based upon the matters before the Court, Final Judgment is hereby entered for the Plaintiff, Jonathan M. Powell, against the Defendant, Sheriff Mike Scott, in his official capacity as the Sheriff in and for Lee County, Florida; Plaintiff has established a clear right to compel performance by the Defendant in its duty to participate in the aforementioned informal panel process where Plaintiff has alleged that an arrest was made contrary to the law. The Defendant, Sheriff Mike Scott, in his official capacity as the Sheriff in and for Lee County, Florida, is commanded to participate in the aforementioned informal panel process under Florida Administrative Code §11C-7.008 and §11C-8.001 sought by Plaintiff.

Lewis v. State, 711 So.2d 174 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998): Affirmed in accordance with section 943.0581, Florida Statutes (1997). The Department of Law Enforcement has promulgated rules and procedures for the administrative expungement of arrest records made contrary to law or by mistake. These rules and procedures can be found in the Florida Administrative Code Sections 11C-7.008 and 11C-8.001. It is apparent that Appellant has failed to follow these rules in seeking relief. Therefore, we affirm without prejudice to Appellant’s right to seek relief from the department pursuant to these provisions.

Questions?

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