When you can expunge a deferred sentence in Rhode Island
A deferred sentence has its own path. You can move to expunge the records "upon its completion." The law says this path works "without regard to" the first-offender, multiple-misdemeanor and multiple-felony paths.
The five- and ten-year waits belong to other parts of the law. This path sets its own timing instead: "upon its completion."
Once the court finds, after a hearing, that you complied with all the terms and conditions of your deferral agreement, you "shall become immediately eligible for consideration for expungement."
How long a deferred sentence lasts
When a Superior Court formally defers sentence, you and the court sign a written deferral agreement, filed with the clerk. The court can impose sentence only up to five years from the date of that agreement, unless you are found to have violated its terms.
So the deferral can run for any period up to five years. When it ends and the court finds you complied, you can move to expunge the record straight away, whatever the offense, unless it is one of the crimes of violence on the statutory list.
What the court must find before it expunges a deferred sentence
You must have complied with all the terms and conditions of the deferral agreement, "including, but not limited to, the payment in full of any court-ordered fines, fees, costs, assessments, and restitution to victims of crime."
The court must also find that no criminal proceedings are pending against you and that you have established good character.
Crimes of violence: the one absolute bar
The law ends with it: "no person who has been convicted of a crime of violence shall have their records relating to a deferred sentence expunged."
Crimes of violence are a defined list in the statute. It is worth reading before you assume it covers your charge.
The law behind this page
- Expungement of a deferred sentence upon its completion, without regard to the first-offender, multiple-misdemeanor and multiple-felony paths: R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1.3-2(f).
- Immediate eligibility once the court finds, after a hearing, that you complied with the deferral agreement: § 12-19-19(c).
- What compliance includes, no pending proceedings, good character, and the crime-of-violence bar: § 12-1.3-3(b)(1)(ii) and § 12-19-19(c).
- The written deferral agreement and the five-year limit: § 12-19-19(a).
- The first-offender definition, which excludes anyone previously convicted of or placed on probation for a felony or misdemeanor: § 12-1.3-1(3).
