A client of the Law Office of Bill Pedersen, III, PLLC, was arrested following a traffic incident. He was charged with Aggravated Assault, a second degree felony, punishable by 2-20 years in the penitentiary. The client is an otherwise law-abiding foreign national who has lived here for over twenty years. The Law Office of Bill Pedersen, III, PLLC, prepared a letter to the Collin County Grand Jury, along with a packet of documents, pictures, and law, that persuaded the Collin County Grand Jury to reject the felony accusation, and instead charge the client with misdemeanor reckless driving. That charge will have zero adverse immigration consequences (absent a change in the law), and following completion of a pretrial diversion program, the client will be eligible for an expunction. An expunction is only available in very limited circumstances, and basically orders all Texas state agencies to delete, shred, burn, or otherwise destroy ANY record of an individual’s investigation, arrest, or prosecution. Following an expunction, an individual may deny the existence of any investigation, arrest, or prosecution UNDER OATH. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.03.
If the client successfully completes the pretrial diversion program, following expunction, this matter will be functionally erased from his life forever.