Commonwealth v. D.M.

I respectfully disagree with the Majority Opinion that a petitioner is automatically entitled to the expungement of his or her arrest record following an acquittal. Instead, I would apply the balancing factors set forth in Commonwealth v. Wexler, 494 Pa. 325, 431 A.2d 877 (1981), even for an acquittal. Here, after weighing the Commonwealth’s interest in preserving Appellee D.M.’s arrest record and his interest in expungement, I would deny his request for expungement. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.

With regard to expungement, the Criminal History Record Information Act (the Act), 18 Pa.C.S.…