Cause
No.
In
the Matter
of
(3)
-------
§
§
§
(1)
In
the
(2)
_____
County, Texas
(4)
Petition for Order
of
Nondisclosure
---------------
(''Petitioner") respectfully petitions
(5)
this Court for
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure regarding the offense detailed
in
the following
paragraph. The petition
is
filed pursuant
to
Texas Government Code, Section
411.081.
1. The Underlying Order
of
Deferred Adjudication
Petitioner pleaded
_______
in
this Court to the offense
of
(6)
-------------------------·
This Court
(7)
placed Petitioner
on
deferred adjudication community supervision pursuant to Texas
Code
of
Criminal Procedure, article 42.12, Section S(a). A copy
of
this Court's "Order
of
Deferred Adjudication"
__
attached to this Petition. The term
of
Petitioner's period
of
(8)
deferred adjudication began
on
and ended
on
(9)
(10)
2. The Order
of
Dismissal and Discharge
This Court did not proceed to
an
adjudication
of
guilt. Accordingly, this Court
dismissed the proceedings against Petitioner and discharged Petitioner
as
required by
Texas
Code
of
Criminal Procedure, article 42.12, Section 5(c). A copy
of
this Court's
"Order
of
Dismissal and Discharge"
__
also attached to this Petition. The date
of
this
(11)
(12)
3.
An
Order
of
Nondisclosure may be Issued for this Type
of
Offense
As
shown in the attached Order
of
Deferred Adjudication, the offense is:
(1) a violation
of
__________________
_
(13)
(2)
__
an
offense under Texas
Penal
Code, Sections 19.02, 19.03,
(14)
20.04, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, or 42.072;
(3)
__
an
offense requiring registration
as
a sex offender under Texas
(15)
Code
of
Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62; and
( 4)
__
an
offense involving family violence
as
defined by Texas Family
(16)
Code, Section 71.004.
Accordingly,
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure may be issued for this type
of
offense.
See
Texas Government Code, Section 411.081.
4.
Petitioner has no Disqualifying Criminal History
Petitioner has
___
been convicted of, or placed on deferred
(17)
adjudication for, any
of
the following offenses:
(1)
an
offense under Texas
Penal
Code,
Sections 19.02, 19.03, 20.04,
22.04, 22.041, 25.07, or 42.072;
(2)
an
offense requiring registration
as
a sex offender under Texas
Code
of
Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62; or
(3)
an
offense involving family violence
as
defined by Texas Family
Code,
Section 71.004.
Accordingly, Petitioner
is
not disqualified from filing this Petition because
of
Petitioner's criminal history.
5. Date Petitioner is First Eligible
to
File Petition
(18)
Therefore, the earliest date Petitioner
is
eligible to file this Petition
is
----------------------date
of
the Order
of
(19)
Dismissal and Discharge. This "eligible-to-file" date
is
-----------
(20)
6. Petitioner has no Disqualifying Offenses during Relevant Time Period
Petitioner may file this Petition only
if
Petitioner was not convicted of, or placed
on
deferred adjudication for, "disqualifying" offenses during a "relevant" time period.
The disqualifying offenses include
all
criminal offenses other than fine-only offenses
under the Texas Transportation
Code.
The relevant time period begins
on
the date
Petitioner was placed
on
deferred adjudication (
_________
), and ends
(21)
on
the eligible-to-file date, (
___________
).
Petitioner was not
(22)
convicted of, or placed
on
deferred adjudication for, any specified offense during the
relevant time period.
7. Petitioner
is
Entitled
to
File a Petition for an Order
of
Nondisclosure
Petitioner is entitled to file this Petition because Petitioner
has
satisfied
each
of
the requirements necessary
to
be
so
entitled. A person
is
entitled
to
file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure
pursuant to
Texas
Government
Code,
Section
411.081(d), (e)
if
the
person:
(a)
has
been
placed
on
deferred adjudication for a particular offense (see
Paragraph
1 of this Petition);
(b)
subsequently
receives
a
discharge
and
dismissal
(see
Paragraph
2 of
this Petition);
(c)
was
placed
on
deferred adjudication for
an
offense
for
which
an
order
of
nondisclosure
may
be
issued
(see
Paragraph
3
of
this Petition);
(d)
has
no
disqualifying
offenses
in
his
or
her
criminal
history (see
Paragraph
4 of this Petition);
(e)
has
waited
the requisite amount of time to file
the
Petition
(see
Paragraph
5 of this Petition);
and
(f)
has
not committed
any
disqualifying
offenses
between
during a
statutorily-specified relevant time
period
(see
Paragraph
6 of this
Petition).
8. Issuance
of
an Order
of
Nondisclosure
is
in the Best
Interest
of
Justice
The
issuance
of
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure
in
this
case
would
be
in
the
best
interest of justice.
9. The Fee to File
the
Petition has been Paid or Otherwise Satisfied
The
fee
to file this
Petition
is
the
total amount to file a
general
civil
lawsuit
in
this
Court
plus
an
additional
$28.00.
Petitioner
has
included
(23)
10. Prayer for Relief
Petitioner prays that this Court determine that Petitioner
is
entitled to file this
Petition. Petitioner also prays that this Court determine that
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure
is
in
the best interest
of
justice. Finally, Petitioner prays that upon making the two
foregoing determinations, this Court issue
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure
as
required by
Texas Government Code, Section 411.0Sl(d).
Respectfully submitted,
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)
OCA
Model
Form
September 1, 2013
Office
of
Court Administration
Orders
of
Nondisclosure
Overview
What
is
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure?
An
order
of
nondisclosure
is
a court order prohibiting public entities such
as
courts and police departments from disclosing certain criminal records. If you
have
a criminal record, you may benefit from obtaining
such
an
order.
An
order
of
nondisclosure also legally frees you from disclosing information
about your criminal history
in
response
to
questions
on
job applications.
You
do not need to mention information related to the offense that
is
the subject
of
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
Please
note that
an
order
of
nondisclosure applies to a particular criminal
offense.
The
order does not apply
to
all offenses that may
be
on
your
criminal record, but you may obtain multiple orders
of
nondisclosure for
multiple offenses.
As
mentioned above,
an
order
of
nondisclosure directs entities holding
information about a certain offense
on
your criminal record
to
not release that
information. This
is
a general rule. There are exceptions. Certain state
agencies are still entitled to obtain information concerning
an
offense that
is
the subject
of
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
Who
is
eligible for
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure?
Not all persons with criminal records are entitled to file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
You
are entitled to file a petition only
if
six
specified
conditions are met. These conditions are set out below:
1.
Eirst,
you must
have
been placed
on
deferred adjudication community
supervision (hereinafter, "deferred adjudication") for the offense
in
question.
The
court that placed you
on
deferred adjudication will
have
issued
an
order
of
deferred adjudication
in
your
case.
Ideally, you
should attach a copy
of
your order
of
deferred adjudication
to
your
petition. (While attaching a copy
of
your order
of
deferred adjudication
Rev.9/13
is
not required, doing
so
may
expedite the process
of
obtaining
an
order
of
nondisclosure.)
You
can
obtain a copy
of
your order
of
deferred
adjudication from the clerk
of
the court that placed you
on
deferred
adjudication.
Please
note that
if
you
were
placed
on
deferred adjudication for
an
offense, you
were
not considered to
be
convicted. If you
were
convicted
on
an
offense, you are not entitled to file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure. This
is
the
case
even
if
you
were
placed
on
community
supervision
Ue.,
probation) after being convicted.
2.
Second, you must
have
successfully completed deferred adjudication. If
you successfully completed deferred adjudication, the court that placed
you
on
deferred adjudication should
have
issued
an
order
of
dismissal
and discharge. Ideally, you should attach a copy
of
your order
of
dismissal and discharge to your petition. (While attaching a copy
of
your
order
of
dismissal and discharge
is
not required, doing
so
may
expedite
the process
of
obtaining
an
order
of
nondisclosure.)
You
can
obtain a
copy
of
your order
of
dismissal and discharge from the clerk
of
the
court that placed you
on
deferred adjudication.
Please
note that
if
you did not successfully complete deferred
adjudication, you are not entitled to file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
3.
Ihird, the offense
in
question must
be
an
offense for which you
may
obtain
an
order
of
nondisclosure. A person
may
be
placed
on
deferred
adjudication for a
wide
variety
of
offenses. Not all
of
these offenses,
however,
may
be
the subject
of
an
order
of
nondisclosure. There are
three categories
of
offenses that are not eligible for
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
·
The
first category consists
of
violations
of
any
of
the following
sections
of
the Texas Penal
Code:
19.02, 19.03, 20.04, 22.04,
22.041, 25.07, and 42.072.
The
Texas
Penal Code
is
available
online at http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us.
·
The
second category consists
of
offenses that require registration
as
a
sex
offender.
Rev.9/13
·
The
third category consists
of
offenses involving family violence.
Please
check your order
of
deferred adjudication to determine whether
the offense
in
question falls
in
any
of
these three ineligible categories. If
the offense falls
in
one
of
the three ineligible categories, you
are
not
entitled to file a petition.
4.
Fourth, you must not
have
any disqualifying criminal history.
Here,
the
offense for which you are seeking
an
order
of
nondisclosure
is
not the
concern. Rather, the concern
is
other offenses that may
be
part
of
your
criminal record. There
are
three categories
of
offenses that will cause
you to not
be
entitled
to
file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure. If
you
have
ever
been
convicted
of
(or placed
on
deferred adjudication for)
any
of
these offenses, you are not entitled to file a petition.
·
The
first category consists
of
violations
of
any
of
the following
sections
of
the
Texas
Penal
Code:
19.02, 19.03, 20.04, 22.04,
22.041, 25.07, and 42.072.
·
The
second category consists
of
offenses that require registration
as
a
sex
offender.
·
The
third category consists
of
offenses involving family violence.
If you are unsure
if
you
have
a disqualifying criminal history, you
may
wish
to check your criminal history record.
You
can
obtain a copy
of
your criminal history record from the
Texas
Department
of
Public Safety
(DPS).
Procedures for obtaining your criminal history record can
be
found online at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us.
Your criminal history record will list the offenses for which you
have
been
convicted or placed
on
deferred adjudication. Your criminal history
record will not show whether
any
of
these offenses required registration
as
a
sex
offender, nor will your criminal history record reveal whether
any
of
the offenses involved family violence.
The
underlying judgments
of
conviction and orders
of
deferred adjudication will reveal this
information.
Again,
if
you
know
your criminal history, you do not need to obtain your
criminal history record.
You
are not required to attach your criminal
Rev.9/13
history record to your petition.
You
may,
however, attach your criminal
history record to your petition
if
you
so
desire.
5.
Eiftb,
you must
have
waited a certain period
of
time after the court's
order
of
dismissal and discharge
to
seek
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
· If the offense
in
question
is
a felony, you
may
not file a petition
for
an
order
of
nondisclosure until the fifth anniversary after your
dismissal and discharge.
· If the offense
is
a misdemeanor under Chapter 20,
21, 22, 25,
42,
or 46
of
the Texas Penal Code, your wait
is
shorter.
Specifically, you
may
not file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure until the second anniversary after your dismissal and
discharge.
·
For
any
other misdemeanor, there
is
no
waiting period; you may
file a petition seeking
an
order
of
nondisclosure once the Court
issues
an
order
of
dismissal and discharge.
6.
Sixth,
you must not
have
been
convicted
of
(or placed
on
deferred
adjudication for) any criminal offenses during a special time period. A
fine-only offense under the
Texas
Transportation
Code
does not count
as
a criminal offense for purposes
of
this requirement.
In
other words, a
traffic ticket does not count
as
a conviction.
The
special time period begins
on
the date you
were
placed
on
deferred
adjudication.
The
special time period ends
on
the date
of
your order
of
dismissal and discharge plus any applicable waiting period
as
described
above.
If you meet all
six
of
the foregoing requirements, you are entitled to file a
petition for order
of
nondisclosure.
How
do I obtain
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure?
In
order to obtain
an
order
of
nondisclosure, you must first file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure with the proper court.
The
petition
is
to
be
filed
with
the clerk
of
the court that handled the offense for which you
were
placed
Rev.
9/13
on
deferred adjudication.
You
will
have
to pay a filing
fee
in
the approximate
amount
of
$280 - the fee varies from county to county.
Please
check with the
clerk
of
the court
to
determine the exact filing
fee.
If you are indigent, you
may
file
an
affidavit
of
indigency
in
lieu
of
paying a filing
fee.
You
can
click
here
for the form: affidavit-of-indigency.
As
mentioned immediately above,
by
meeting the
six
requirements you
are
entitled to file a petition for order
of
nondisclosure. This does not guarantee,
however, that the judge will grant your petition and issue
an
order
of
nondisclosure.
The
judge must
issue
an
order
of
nondisclosure only upon a
finding that issuance
of
the order
is
in
the best interest
of
justice.
On
the next
page
you will find a petition form. Following the form, you will
find detailed instructions
on
completing the form.
You
can
fill
in
the blanks
on
the form
by
typing your answers
in
the spaces provided. Alternatively, you may
handwrite the
answers.
Don't forget to
sign
your petition. Your petition does
not
need
to
be
notarized.
You
may
file your completed petition with the
appropriate court clerk electronically,
by
mail, or
in
person. For directions
on
how
to file your petition electronically, please
go
to http://www.efiletexas.gov/.
What happens after I file
my
Petition for
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure?
Once
you
have
filed your petition, you do not need to provide notice to
anyone
else.
The
court clerk will provide notice
of
the filing
of
your petition to
the State
of
Texas
(i.e.,
the prosecutor's office).
The
State may request a
hearing
on
your petition.
The
first decision for the judge at the hearing will
be
whether you are entitled to file the petition.
The
second decision for the judge
at the hearing will
be
whether issuance
of
an
order
of
nondisclosure
is
in
the
best interest
of
justice.
If the State requests a hearing before the 45
1
h
day after receiving notice
of
the
filing
of
your petition, the judge must hold a hearing.
You
will
be
required to
attend this hearing. If the State does not
ask
for a hearing, the judge
may
still
decide to hold a hearing.
You
will
be
given notice
of
the place and time
of
the hearing
so
be
sure
to
keep
your contact information
up
to date with the
clerk
of
the court.
In
many instances, however, the judge will not hold a hearing. If the State
does not request a hearing, the judge
may
issue
an
order
of
nondisclosure
Rev.9/13
without holding
any
hearing.
The
judge will decline to hold a hearing
in
such a
circumstance
if
he
or
she
makes two determinations:
· that you are entitled to file a petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure; and
· that issuance
of
an
order
of
nondisclosure
is
in
the best interest
of
justice.
In
such
an
instance, the court clerk will provide you with a copy
of
the order
of
nondisclosure.
Who
do I contact
if
I
have
questions about this process?
If you
need
legal advice, you should contact a lawyer.
It
is
always best to hire
a lawyer. A lawyer will
be
in
the best position to advise you
as
to what you
should
do.
Without the advice and help
of
a lawyer, you
may
not properly
seek
an
order
of
nondisclosure. This
may
cause your petition for
an
order
of
nondisclosure to
be
denied.
If you
have
questions about the form, please contact the
Texas
Office
of
Court
Administration at (512) 463-1625.
Rev.9/13
Cause
No.
-------
In
the Matter
of
In
the
§
§
§
______
County, Texas
Order
of
Nondisclosure
Petitioner filed a Petition for
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure with this Court. Notice
of
the
filing
of
the Petition was given
to
the State. The State was given
an
opportunity to
request a hearing
on
the Petition. The State
D requested a hearing.
D did not request a hearing.
The Court
o conducted a hearing on
----------
D did not conduct a hearing.
The Court
FINDS
that Petitioner
is
entitled to file a Petition for
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure. Additionally, the Court
FINDS
that
issuance
of
an
Order
of
Nondisclosure
is
in the best interest
of
justice.
Accordingly, the Court
ORDERS
criminal justice agencies to not disclose to the public
criminal history record information related to the offense
of
for which
---------------------------
Petitioner was placed on deferred adjudication on
____________
_
Signed
on
__________
_
Judge Presiding
OCA
Model Order
September 1, 2013
