Appellate Win: Oklahoma Supreme Court upholds the expungement of ALL pardoned crimes

Yet another win on appeal for attorney Michael A. Risley, this time from the Oklahoma Supreme Court: S.K.W. v. State of Oklahoma, 2022 OK 39.

The case began in Canadian County. After getting our client a pardon from Governor Stitt, we then requested an expungement of all of her pardoned cases: two felonies, one misdemeanor, and two related civil cases. The Canadian County District Attorney objected, as they believed that Holder v. State and Olson v. State barred the expungement of more than one pardoned crime. The Honorable Judge Jack D. McCurdy II agreed, and denied the expungement based on their objection.

All 9 Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the express terms of 22 O.S. §18(A)(4) authorize the expungement of all pardoned crimes, no matter how many there are. The Supreme Court also noted that even if it had adopted the District Attorney’s arguments, Oklahoma's long term policy of liberally construing remedial statutes (such as Oklahoma’s expungement statute) would mandate the same result. Finally, the Supreme Court expressly overruled Holder and Olson to the extent that they conflicted with the S.K.W. opinion.

If you’ve received a pardon, and want to have your record expunged, get in touch and let the experts take care of it.