Why Expungement Doesn’t Work in the Age of Screenshots

May 2, 2025 remove mugshot

Imagine spending years trying to rebuild your life. You complete probation, stay out of trouble, and finally receive an expungement order from the court. Under state law, your criminal record is supposed to be cleared. Legally, you’re no longer a person convicted of a crime.

But when you apply for a job, the hiring manager pulls up a screenshot from years ago—one taken before your record was sealed. It may show a news story, a mugshot, or a social media post. That image persists despite the conviction being dismissed or resolved through a nolle prosequi. Your second chance is denied before the interview even begins.

This is the hidden flaw in the expungement process. While it can help erase official criminal records from public databases, it doesn’t protect against content that has already been screenshot, shared, or stored online.

What Expungement Really Means

Expungement is a legal process through which a court can remove or seal records related to certain offenses from public access. A person may qualify for expungement under specific circumstances, such as completing parole, finishing a waiting period, or showing evidence of rehabilitation. In some states, a petition and supporting documents such as the original judgment, disposition, or proof of eligibility are required.

Depending on where the conviction occurred, the law may allow expungement for misdemeanors, non-violent felony convictions, or even low-level drug offenses such as marijuana possession. Courts may issue an expungement order after reviewing the case and determining that the applicant qualifies for relief.

Some states, such as California, now offer automatic expungement for select offenses under clean slate legislation. This means eligible records are sealed without the person needing to file paperwork. However, even this doesn’t erase what has already been made public.

Why Screenshots Are So Dangerous

A screenshot might seem harmless, but it’s one of the biggest threats to anyone seeking a fresh start through expungement. It captures an exact moment—an arrest story, an online investigation, or an outdated criminal record—and preserves it indefinitely, even after the original file is deleted.

Screenshots can appear in:

• Forums and comment threads
• Archived news pages
• Messaging apps and private chats
• Google Images and reverse search tools
• Cached sites and data broker platforms

They don’t follow state law. They don’t come with takedown instructions. They rarely include updates about dismissals, plea deals, or subsequent court rulings. Even if your case was expunged, the image remains frozen in time.

This can be especially damaging for people who were arrested but never convicted, or for those whose charges were resolved through pretrial diversion, dismissal, or a favorable verdict.

How Screenshots Undermine Legal Protections

Here’s how screenshots quietly override everything the expungement process is supposed to protect:

• News websites may never revise content to reflect a dismissal or expungement of a conviction. A screenshot of the original article may still circulate.
• Mugshot websites often publish arrest photos and details before a trial concludes. Even if charges are later dropped, that image may be copied and reposted.
• Social media users may share screenshots without considering the context or understanding the legal implications.
• Once an image is uploaded, it may be reposted across multiple platforms, without the intent to harm, but with real-world consequences.

Unlike court-sealed documents, screenshots aren’t restricted by jurisdiction or tied to official court records. They can be copied freely, shared instantly, and stored permanently.

Real-World Consequences

Even when a person qualifies for and receives an expungement, a screenshot can continue to block:

Employment

An applicant may be denied a position after a quick Google search reveals an old mugshot or post, despite having no criminal record under current law.

Housing

Private landlords may rely on informal background searches. If an old screenshot resurfaces, it can sway a rental decision without notice or explanation.

Licensing

Professional boards might uncover screenshots during reviews, even when official records have been cleared. That can affect healthcare, education, finance, or firearm use certifications.

Personal reputation

Family, friends, or potential partners may come across archived images, especially if your name is associated with a viral case. Even a guilty plea that was later dismissed may continue to haunt you.

These consequences underscore the disparity between legal protections and actual outcomes. The law may consider your conviction sealed, but the internet rarely agrees.

Where Automatic Expungement Falls Short

Many states now support automatic expungement. This is progress, but it has limits.

• Eligibility is often narrow. It excludes violent felonies, sex offenses, or anything that resulted in state prison time.
• The person may still appear in online records, such as news archives or scraped databases.
• There’s no process to notify data brokers or website hosts that a record has been expunged.
• There’s no control over screenshots taken before the record was cleared.

In short, while expungement laws help, they don’t provide complete privacy or reputation repair.

What You Can Do About It

If your criminal record has been expunged or if you believe you’re eligible to begin the process, there are still important steps.

1. Seek legal help or reputation management services

An attorney or dedicated agency can guide you through removals, takedown requests, and long-term online security efforts.

2. Monitor your name and images

Utilize reverse image tools and Google Alerts to stay informed about what’s being shared.

3. Build new content

Publishing blog posts, professional bios, or press features can help bury old screenshots in search results.

4. Save your paperwork

Keep a copy of your court judgment, disposition, or petition approval. You may need it to challenge misleading content.

5. Request content removals

While screenshots are difficult to track, some platforms allow requests for removal based on privacy rights, especially if you were never prosecuted or your case was dismissed.

Final Thoughts

Expungement is an essential legal remedy for individuals who’ve served their time and wish to rebuild their lives. But we now live in a world where screenshots can outlast the law—and outpace any effort to erase the past.

A clean slate under state law doesn’t stop an image from being saved, reposted, or misunderstood. That’s why expunging your record is only the beginning.

To truly move forward, you need more than a judge’s approval. You need a plan for managing what the internet still remembers—and what others might still find.

Because in the age of screenshots, your future shouldn’t be defined by a copy of your past.