The purpose of the expungement statute is to seal the record. The end result is a significant hit to expungement petitioners statewide.
![stay of imposition stay of imposition](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETySGMUXsAA892m.png)
Essentially, the language ‘was convicted’ in the statute asks simply: was the petitioner convicted of a felony when the case was originally resolved? Because the original adjudication in a stay of imposition is a felony conviction, the record must be construed as a felony record for expungement purposes. The Court of Appeals did not concern itself with how the record is viewed now.
![stay of imposition stay of imposition](https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/9535/7cbd73226e0942dfb1fd373824306c34.jpg)
On Monday, the Court of Appeals found differently. As a result, the petitioner “was convicted of” a misdemeanor for expungement purposes, making the petitioner eligible for a statutory expungement. After carefully scrutinizing the language of the statute, the Ramsey County judge found that, at the time the petition was filed, the record showed a conviction for a misdemeanor, not a felony.
![stay of imposition stay of imposition](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wahpetondailynews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/8f/48fadd92-44c2-11e4-94af-83b635ee2938/54242a58d6038.image.jpg)
![stay of imposition stay of imposition](https://www.livelaw.in/h-upload/2021/06/01/394284-oxygen-concentrators-and-sc.jpg)