In re Expunction

497 S.W.3d 505, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3186, 2016 WL 1237713
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 29, 2016
DocketNO. 01-15-00164-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 497 S.W.3d 505 (In re Expunction) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Expunction, 497 S.W.3d 505, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3186, 2016 WL 1237713 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

Sherry Radack, Chief Justice

In this appeal, we consider whether the trial court, having ordered the expunetion of “all records and files pertaining to the [petitioner’s] arrest” after the petitioner was pardoned by the Governor, may require the Texas Secretary of State to turn over for destruction the actual gubernatorial pardon proclamation signed by the Governor, despite the Secretary of State’s constitutionally imposed duty to keep a “fair register” of all of the Governor’s official acts. We modify the order of expunction to clarify that the Secretary of State is not required to expunge the gubernatorial pardon proclamation, and, as modified, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In 1981, the petitioner pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft. On December 19, 2013, Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, granted her a full pardon, signing a gubernatorial pardon proclamation with the seal of the State of Texas attached thereto. The pardon proclamation also provided: “I HEREBY DIRECT that a copy of this proclamation be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.” In compliance with the terms of the proclamation, it was filed with the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State has possession of the pardon proclamation.

In 2014, the petitioner filed a Petition for Expunetion, pursuant to Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, requesting that the named agencies, including the Secretary of State, “return all records and files to the court, or if that is impractical, delete all references in the records to petitioner and notify the court of the same[.]” The Secretary of State responded, arguing that he has the constitutional duty to preserve the gubernatorial pardon proclamation. After requesting briefing and argument by the parties on the issue, the trial court granted the ex-pungement, ordering in part:

THEREFORE, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that:

[507]*507(1) The petition for expunction filed in this cause is GRANTED as to all respondents, including the Secretary of the State of Texas, and all records of the petitioner’s arrest in this cause, including all records of petitioner’s prosecution for this offense, are expunged; and all release, dissemination or use of records pertaining to such arrest and prosecution is prohibited.
(2) The respondents shall return all records and files concerning the above-specified arrest to this Court, or if removal is impracticable, obliterate all portions of the records or files that identify the petitioner, including all computer entries, and notify the court of its actions.
(3) The respondents shall delete from their records all index references to the records and files that are subject to this expunction order.

The Secretary of State then filed this appeal.

EXPUNCTION OF GUBERNATORIAL PARDON PROCLAMATION

In three related issues on appeal, the Secretary of State contends the trial court erred in requiring the expunction of the gubernatorial pardon proclamation. Specifically, the Secretary of State argues that his constitutional duty> to preserve official records of the Governor trumps the statutory right to expunction provided in the expunction statute. The Secretary of State also argues that the expunction statute does not cover gubernatorial pardon proclamations, and that by extending it to do so, the trial court violated the separation-of-powers doctrine.

Standard of Review and Applicable Law

This Court reviews a trial court’s grant or denial of a petition for expunction under an abuse of discretion standard. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d 803, 806 (Tex.App.-Houston, [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.); Heine v. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 92 S.W.3d 642, 646 (Tex.App.-Austin 2002, pet. denied). A trial court abuses its discretion if it renders a decision that is arbitrary, unreasonable, or without reference to guiding rules and principles. Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. v. Rhyne, 925 S.W.2d 664, 666 (Tex.1996); J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d at 806, A trial court’s legal conclusions, however, we review de novo. State v. Heal, 917 S.W.2d 6, 9 (Tex.1996); J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d at 806. A trial court has no discretion in determining what the law is or applying the law to the facts. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 840 (Tex.1992).

Expunction is a statutory privilege, not a constitutional or common-law right. McCarroll v. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 86 S.W.3d 376, 378 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2002, no pet.). Further, although the expunction statute is, located in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, an expunction proceeding is civil rather than criminal in nature. J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d at 806; Harris Cnty. Dist. Att’y v. Lacafta, 965 S.W.2d 568, 569 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, no pet.). The petitioner seeking an expunction carries the burden of proving that all statutory requirements have been satisfied. J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d at 806; Harris Cnty. Dist. Att’y v. Hopson, 880 S.W.2d 1, 3 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, no writ). Neither this Court nor the trial court has any equitable power to-extend the protections of the expunction statute beyond its stated provisions. See J.H.J., 274 S.W.3d at 806.

Under chapter 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a person may have their “records and files relating to the arrest” expunged after receiving a pardon. Tex. Code Ceim. P. art 55.01 (a)(1)(B)(i-ii) (West Supp.2015). Although it is clear that “the arrest records for the convictions for which [508]*508[the petitioner] has been pardoned” maybe expunged, see Ex parte Hernandez, 165 S.W.3d 760, 762 (Tex.App.-Eastland 2005, no pet.), no case discusses whether the right to an expungement after a pardon includes the expungement, i.e., destruction, of the actual gubernatorial pardon proclamation itself. We believe that it does not.

Analysis

The Texas Constitution requires the Secretary of State to maintain and keep a record of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor.

There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall continue in office during the term of service of the Governor. He shall authenticate the publication of the laws, and keep a fair register of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before the Legislature or either House thereof, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
497 S.W.3d 505, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3186, 2016 WL 1237713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-expunction-texapp-2016.