Certificate of Detention
WHAT DOES A CERTIFICATE OF DETENTION DO?
What is a certificate of detention?
If no charges were filed with the court - then no records with the court exist. Therefore there is nothing within the court to seal or expunge. What does exist is a record of your arrest within the law enforcement system. A certificate of detention converts the arrest to only a detention in those records.
What is the value of having a certificate of detention?
While the word detention may sound similar to an arrest, there is an important legal distinction. Converting your arrest to a detention means that law enforcement is saying you were never arrested, merely detained. The effect of that means that if anyone were to ask you “have you ever been arrested?” for example in a job interview, legally you can truthfully answer “no”. Many people want the certificate of detention for that reason.
HOW CAN I GET A CERTIFICATE OF DETENTION?
The request must be made to the Department of Justice
Since the records are not with the court, the process to get a certificate of detention is not with the court. To get the certificate of detention you must go through law enforcement - the department of justice. To start the process you need to contact the law enforcement agency you were arrested by and request it. Whether or not the Department of Justice issues the certificate of detention is discretionary, meaning they may decide whether to issue it or not.
The statute of limitations may need to be expired for your request to be granted
Please note that timing can be an issue that effects whether your request is granted. Every crime has a statute of limitations, and within that time charges could technically still be filed. The Department of Justice may be unwilling to grant your request if the statute of limitations has not expired, but that is not always the case. Sometimes they are granted right away, and in some cases even without the person having to request it.
DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY?
No you don’t - and this is coming from an attorney. This is not something that you need to hire an attorney to have done. Because the process is completely outside of a court, there is not a need to have an attorney go to court and make arguments on your behalf. You can make this request on your own with the law enforcement agency who arrested you. An attorney cannot force or compel the Department of Justice to issue the certificate, it is solely the Department of Justice’s decision to make.
