District Court Exceeded Its Authority in Expungement of Executive Records;Failed to Make Findings To Support Expungement of Judicial Records

State v. A.S.E., Minn.Ct.App., 8/19/2013.  Back in 1996, A.S.E. pleaded guilty to felony theft, wrongfully obtaining welfare benefits; and in 1997 a jury found A.S.E. guilty of misdemeanor theft.  In 2012,  thirteen years after discharge from probation, A.S.E. petitioned for expungement of  both convictions.   The district court granted the requests, ordering expungement of both executive and judicial records.  The state appealed.

After that, the supreme court released its opinion in State v. M.D.T., 831 N.W.2d 276 (Minn. 2013), which pretty much put the courts out of the business of expunging executive records.  And while the court still have discretion under its inherent power to expunge judicial records, here the district court made no findings in support of its expungment order.  So, the court of appeals sends the case back for those findings.