Frequently Asked Questions

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Record Restriction

Georgia’s old law used the term “expungement, which implied that criminal records information was deleted or destroyed. Criminal records were not deleted or destroyed; the term “expungement” simply meant that the information was unavailable to be viewed for all purposes except law enforcement and criminal justice.

Georgia’s new law, effective July 1, 2013, does not use the word “expungement.” Instead, the process is now referred to as “record restriction.” Only the name of the process has changed. Record restriction means that eligible records on your official criminal history report are restricted from public view and are only accessible to law enforcement for criminal justice purposes. 

No. All of the charges in the case must qualify for restriction. 
Yes, your application will be reconsidered under the criteria in the new law. If your application was denied in the past and the charge(s) now qualify under the new law, you should reapply.
Yes. Anyone arrested by the Gwinnett County Sheriff, Gwinnett County Police Department or any of the 16 cities in Gwinnett County is eligible for record restriction consideration.
Go the Clerk’s office and give them your case number in which your case was handled and request a copy. They may be able to find and print your disposition. Visit them at Gwinnett County Clerk of Courts.
Record restriction removes arrests from the employment level searches on the official Georgia Criminal History provided by the GBI. However, the case paperwork remains open. In order to seal the court paperwork, a petition must be filed with one of our judges to have the court paperwork sealed.  
If you received an Order of First Offender Discharge, submit it to the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC); visit them at Georgia Criminal History Record Restrictions.
If your arrest is not referred for prosecution, it will be restricted from your GCIC criminal history record automatically after a period of two (2) years for misdemeanors, four (4) years for most felonies, and seven (7) years for serious violent and sex-related felonies. These automatic provisions of the law apply to arrests before and after July 1, 2013. If a record is automatically restricted, however, and later a disposition is entered that does not qualify for restriction, the law requires that the record be “unrestricted” by GCIC. 

If you were arrested before July 1, 2013, the record remains on your official criminal history unless the charge(s) qualifies for record restriction and you complete the restriction application process.

If you are arrested after July 1, 2013 and the charge(s) qualifies for restriction, the arrest(s) will be restricted by GCIC when the disposition is entered into the GCIC database by the prosecutor or clerk of court. The records of the arresting agency will be restricted within thirty (30) days of the entry of the disposition into GCIC’s database.

Regardless of the date of your arrest, if your case was placed on the dead docket you will need to wait twelve (12) months from the date the case was placed on the dead docket to file an action in superior court for restriction. 

The old restriction process in Georgia covered only the criminal history information maintained by the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) and the arresting law enforcement agency. Private background companies, therefore, still had access to information about your case in their records because the information remained public at the courthouse and the jail/detention center. Since July 1, 2013, Georgia allows the restriction of these records. Once the record is no longer publicly available, federal law requires that private background companies remove the information about the case from the databases if the information cannot be verified. 

Conviction Integrity Unit

No. The CIU is part of the District Attorney’s Office only. However, we may collaborate with various innocence projects and key stakeholders when reviewing and re-investigating cases.
No. The CIU works for the District Attorney on behalf of the State of Georgia. CIU attorneys are NOT able to offer legal advice to you. You should consider hiring private counsel, contacting the public defender’s office, or seeking the assistance of an innocence project or other organization.
Sometimes, letters are delayed in transit to our office. When the Gwinnett County DA’s Office CIU receives your letter, we will send you an acknowledgment of receipt via email or mail.
No. The CIU was not created by statute, its investigations are not part of a court action, and it is not governed by court rules of procedure. The CIU is an independent unit from the appellate unit/post-conviction legal remedies.
The applications submitted to the CIU are reviewed and investigated by the CIU. No prosecutor, police officer, or investigator who was involved in the prosecution of the case under review by the CIU will play any investigative role in evaluating the applications brought to the CIU.
Applicant will be informed of the conclusions reached by the CIU about their application. Applicants do not, however, have an absolute right to have notice of all investigative activities or results obtained by the CIU. To protect the integrity of its investigation, the CIU reserves the right to determine whether or when investigative efforts and results should be disclosed.
The CIU receives many applications each year, we cannot guarantee a time frame of when you should expect to hear back from us about a decision. However, we make every effort to process your application as soon as possible.

The CIU is part of the District Attorney’s Office, we cannot offer legal advice, nor represent anyone in the defense of their case. As such, we will often refer your case to an innocence project because they are sometimes better situated to communicate and discuss confidential matters.

Also, the CIU does not generally review cases where the only claim is procedural, for example, that the convicted person received ineffective assistance of counsel. We do not review cases where there is only a request for a time-cut or complaint that an inmate has not made parole.

Most importantly, however, is that the CIU’s determination does not prevent you from attempting to obtain relief through the normal legal process, such as filing a writ of habeas corpus. Also, the CIU’s determination should not be taken as legal advice that your claim does or does not have merit. You are always free to seek legal advice from a defense attorney at any time regarding your case, and/or pursue any legal claim you believe you may have.

Yes. If the application is not written in English, we make every effort to obtain a translation. The Application will be treated the same as ones where the Application is written in English. Additionally, the CIU is currently able to assist Spanish-speakers.
No. However, re-investigating cases without the benefit of DNA evidence is more difficult and slow-moving because these types of cases are very time consuming to investigate.
No. Each case is unique and simply because the CIU reviews the case does not mean that it will result in an exoneration.
The existence of the CIU does not create or confer any "rights" on those who bring a claim. For this reason, there is no "right" to appeal its determinations. Because the CIU's investigation is not part of a court proceeding, the CIU's decisions or recommendations do not prevent an Applicant from raising the same claims of innocence in another forum, such as through a Motion for Relief from Judgment.

Sentence Review Unit

No. The SRU works for the District Attorney on behalf of the State of Georgia. SRU attorneys are NOT able to offer legal advice to you. You should consider hiring private counsel, contacting the public defender’s office, or seeking the assistance of an innocence project or other organization.
Sometimes, letters are delayed in transit to our office. When the Gwinnett County DA’s Office SRU receives your letter, we will send you an acknowledgment of receipt via email or mail.
No. The SRU was not created by statute, its investigations are not part of a court action, and it is not governed by court rules of procedure. The SRU is an independent unit from the appellate unit/post-conviction legal remedies.
The applications submitted to the SRU are reviewed and investigated by the SRU. No prosecutor, police officer, or investigator who was involved in the prosecution of the case under review by the SRU will play any investigative role in evaluating the applications brought to the SRU.
Applicants will be informed of the conclusions reached by the SRU about their applications. Applicants do not, however, have an absolute right to have notice of all investigative activities or results obtained by the SRU. To protect the integrity of its investigation, the SRU reserves the right to determine whether or when investigative efforts and results should be disclosed.
The SRU receives many applications each year, we cannot guarantee a time frame of when you should expect to hear back from us about a decision. However, we make every effort to process your request as soon as possible.

The SRU is part of the District Attorney’s Office, we cannot offer legal advice, nor represent anyone in the defense of his/her case. Also, the SRU does not generally review cases where the only claim is procedural, for example, that the sentened person received ineffective assistance of counsel. We do not review cases where there is only a request for a time-cut or complaint that an inmate has not made parole.

Most importantly, however, is that the SRU’s determination does not prevent you from attempting to obtain relief through the normal legal process, such as filing a writ of habeas corpus. Also, the SRU’s determination should not be taken as legal advice that your claim does or does not have merit. You are always free to seek legal advice from a defense attorney at any time regarding your case, and/or pursue any legal claim you believe you may have.

Yes. If the Application is not written in English, we make every effort to obtain a translation. The Application will be treated the same as ones where the Application is made in English. Additionally, the SRU is currently able to assist Spanish-speakers.
No. Each case is unique and simply because the SRU reviews the case does not mean that it will result in a sentence reduction.
The existence of the SRU does not create or confer any "rights" on those who bring a claim. For this reason, there is no "right" to appeal its determinations. Because the SRU's investigation is not part of a court proceeding, the SRU's decisions or recommendations do not prevent an Applicant from raising the same claims of excessive sentencing in another forum, such as through a Motion for Relief from Judgment.