What does expunged mean?

Question

A week ago I explained that I had been falsely accused of a felony, the charges were dismissed without prejudice, brought up again the next year, dismissed again without prejudice, and brought up one final time 2 years later this time dismissed WITH prejudice which means they can never be brought up again. However, when I looked up my record on line this ONE charge brought against me THREE times makes me look like the criminal of the century. I am concerned this is going to affect me negatively in the future should I seek employment elsewhere. Lots of people answered telling me there's nothing I can do. But, one answer told me to get a court date from a judge to have my record expunged. What does that mean???

for what it's worth...I have nothing else on my record for anything ever, and, I truly have no idea who did what they accused me of. In fact, the prosecutor herself, apologized directly to me during the proceedings the third time around.

Answer 1

An expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which the subject of a prior criminal investigation or proceeding seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed or destroyed, thereby restoring the subject's name. If successful, the records are said to be "expunged".  

Answer 2

Expunged means to have it removed from the record.  A court can order the record sealed or they could have it expunged meaning it is completely removed from the record.

Answer 3

It means to erase or wipe out  Your record would be clear.

Answer 4

Is there a legal area of Y!Answers? You'd probably get a better answer there. In any case, you should start out looking at your State's website. There should be information about how to get your record expunged, if you had a lawyer for these three proceedings, they should be able to help you. It appears that your records are public until you have them expunged, even though you've been cleared.

This is a Q&A from Florida, which may not be the same for your state, which is why you need to find the info on your own State's web page:

2. Why do I have a criminal history record when the charges against me were dropped/dismissed?

Answer:

The Florida Legislature has determined that Florida criminal history records are public unless the record is sealed or expunged. See Section 943.053(3), Florida Statutes, which provides for public access to criminal history records. The term "criminal history information" is defined, tracking the federal definition, at Section 943.045(4), Florida Statutes. A criminal history record is created when a person is arrested and fingerprinted, and includes the disposition of that arrest, whether it is a conviction, acquittal, dismissal of charges before trial, or other disposition.

If you Google "Expunge criminal record <State Initials>" you should get a ton of info and it appears a lot of companies that will charge you a fee to have it done. You may however be able to do it yourself if you visit your state home page.