Post-Conviction Relief

Fees, Assessments, Fines, and Victim Restitution are all types of costs the court can charge when a defendant is convicted of a crime.

• Fees and Assessments: These are costs to reimburse the court and county. They are not punishment.
• Fine: A fine is a punishment. Some examples include money a defendant must pay for being found guilty of a speeding ticket or a money the court charges all convicted defendants to fund a general restitution fund.
• Victim Restitution: This is a unique type of cost where the court orders a defendant to pay the victim of a crime directly. This is different from the mandatory restitution fund fine.

Impact on expungement: Usually, if a person successfully completes probation and meets certain requirements, their expungement request is mandatory, meaning it must be granted. If they have not successfully completed probation, the court has to decide whether or not to expunge the conviction (the court has discretion). Whether unpaid costs make a petition mandatory or discretionary depends on whether the costs are a condition of probation.  

Fees and Assessments:Probation fees and public defender fees are not conditions of probation. So, owing these fees does not make a petition discretionary. A judge may still have to grant an expungement request if there are other unpaid fees and no other reasons to deny the petition.

NOTE about Elimination of Fees: Because of laws beginning in 2021, some fees (and some of debts related to them) no longer exist. 

Restitution: Beginning January 1, 2023, unpaid restitution cannot be used as a reason to deny expungement.

Other Fines: Fines are conditions of probation. So, those unpaid costs might mean the judge gets to decide whether the expungement request should be granted. Unpaid costs should not mean the petition will be automatically denied. However, when repaying debt related to a conviction, prioritizing payment of fines might increase the chances of a request being granted if there are no other reasons to deny the request.  

If you have unpaid fines, you may want to speak with an attorney.