A defendant charged with Possession of Marijuana entered a plea agreement with the prosecutor to plead guilty to Reckless Driving. He paid a small fine. Later, he sought to expunge the Possession of Marijuana charge but was denied by the Fairfax Circuit Court.
The Supreme Court of Virginia held that, when a charge is changed, the Court can expunge the original charge — even if doing so expunges both charges as a practical effect.
Before this decision, expungement proceedings were reserved only for the innocent. This decision is a crack in that armor.