WorldAugust 21, 2026

expungement

ik-SPUNJ-muhnt

Definition

The legal process of erasing or sealing a person's record of arrest or conviction, effectively making it inaccessible to the public, employers, or schools.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'expungere,' meaning 'to prick out' or 'to erase,' referring to the ancient practice of placing dots next to entries in a ledger to show they were deleted.

In the news

The article suggests that the student should seek an expungement of his juvenile court record to ensure that his minor school infraction does not permanently damage his future opportunities for college or employment.

When Zero Tolerance Meets Fragile Ground: How a Ninth-Grader Was Pushed Out of the Classroom and Into the Mississippi Courts

Read the full article ↗

Substack

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