State v. Thomas

This appeal involves Ohio’s relatively new expungement statutes, R. C. 2953.31-.36, with particular emphasis on R. C. 2953.32. R. C. 2953.32 contains the procedure for obtaining the expungement of a conviction, and essentially provides that a first offender may apply for the ex-pungement of the record of his conviction after the passage of either one or three years, depending upon whether the convic tion was for a misdemeanor or a felony. The precise issue in this case is whether an applicant’s status as a first offender is a jurisdictional requirement to a proceeding for the expungement of a…