MCL 780.621 Setting Aside Convictions

Many lawyers cheered when the legislature changed the Expungment statute to allow for a person to have two convictions and still be eligible to set aside a conviction.  However, many attorneys may have misinterpreted this statute to allow those convicted of two minor offenses to have BOTH of these set aside…not true unfortunately!

The current statute that was amended June 23, 2011 reads as follows:

  • “Except as provided in subsection (2), a person who is convicted of not more than 1 offense may file an application with the convicting court for the entry of an order SETTING ASIDE THE CONVICTION.”   This is critical because you have to specify “the” conviction to set aside.
  • “A person who is otherwise eligible (not more than 1 conviction)…is not rendered ineligible by virtue of being convicted of not more than 2 minor offenses IN ADDITION TO the offense for which the person files an application” This means that if you have a felony conviction, for example, you can still apply to have it set aside (as long as it is not in the lengthy list of excluded offense like drunk driving and CSC cases) even though you were a knucklehead kid and have not more than two minor offenses.   These offenses are defined in the statute as “an ordinance or misdemeanor for which the maximum permissible imprisonment does not exceed 90 days and THAT IS COMMITTED BY A PERSON WHO IS NOT MORE THAN 21 YEARS OF AGE.

We Tried…Really

Defense attorneys across the state had what we thought was a good draft of a bill whereby kids would be able to get TWO MIP convictions expunged or set aside. That was NOT passed and we have the compromise bill stated above.   This is further amplified by 780.624 which makes is clear that you can only have ONE conviction set aside by the judge.

What does this mean for you? Unfortunately if you were told that you could get two MIP convictions expunged that person was wrong and the time to fight a second MIP is while the case is pending…not afterwards!

If you have been charged with even a first MIP, you need experienced defense counsel. Contact Ray Purdy today for a FREE MIP consultation at (616) 502-1646