Expunging a 209A Order

In Vaccaro v. Vaccaro, a 1997 SJC case, the court ruled that even though a 209A order against him was vacated, a husband could not have record of the order expunged from the domestic abuse registry. On March 10, 2006, the Appeals Court decided a case in which a 209A order had been obtained through a fraud on the court. In Commissioner of Probation v. Adams, the court distinguished that scenario from that of Vaccaro, and ruled that "a judge has the inherent authority to expunge a record of a 209A order from the Statewide domestic violence registry system in the rare and limited circumstance that the judge has found through clear and convincing evidence that the order was obtained through fraud on the court." More information is available at Defending Against or Appealing a 209A Order.