Criminal.law · Glossary

Set-Aside

What a set-aside is, how a request to set aside a conviction comes up, and who decides, with examples from Florida, Michigan and Nebraska.

Editorial direction: Antonio G. Jimenez · Former prosecutor and former criminal defense attorneyPublished November 1, 2026General legal information, not legal advice · Editorial standards

Key takeaways

A set-aside comes from a court: Michigan pairs an application to set aside a conviction with a court order on that application. [1][2]
Florida's Rule 3.850 lets a person found guilty, or who pleaded guilty or no contest, ask for relief from the judgment on listed grounds. [6]
The term is not limited to convictions; Nebraska courts can set aside a bail forfeiture when justice does not require enforcing it. [3]

What is a set-aside of a conviction?

A set-aside is a court order that relieves a person of an earlier judgment or order. Applied to a conviction, it is how a court acts on a request to undo that conviction. States do not use the term the same way. Florida's postconviction rule pairs "set aside" with vacating a judgment. Michigan has court forms for applying to set aside a conviction. Nebraska uses the term for bail forfeitures. [6][1][2][3]

How does a set-aside come up in a criminal case?

A set-aside usually starts with a written request asking a court to undo a conviction or another order. Criminal procedure is mostly state law, so this page explains the term through examples from Florida, Michigan and Nebraska. It does not survey every state or federal court. [1]

In Florida, the request is a motion under Rule 3.850, filed after a person has been found guilty or has pleaded guilty or no contest. The listed grounds include a constitutional or legal violation, a court acting without jurisdiction (legal authority over the case), a sentence over the legal maximum, and an involuntary plea. [6]

Florida's motion must be made under oath. It must also explain the judgment being challenged, whether there was an appeal, and the relief requested. The rule sets time limits for most motions, with listed exceptions. [4][6]

Michigan uses a formal application. The state has a court form titled "Application to Set Aside Conviction." [1]

Who decides whether a conviction is set aside?

A court decides. In Michigan, the application is matched by a separate court form, the "Order on Application to Set Aside Conviction." In Florida, Rule 3.850 motions concern judgments from a court established by Florida law, and the rule controls which motions may be considered. [2][6]

Outside convictions, Nebraska law also gives the court the decision. A court may set aside a bail forfeiture on conditions it chooses, if justice does not require enforcing the forfeiture. [3]

How is a set-aside request different from an appeal?

In Florida, a Rule 3.850 motion is not a substitute for an appeal. The rule does not allow relief on grounds that could have been raised at trial or, if properly preserved, on direct appeal. It also asks whether there was an appeal and what happened to it. [7]

Does "set aside" only refer to convictions?

No. The phrase describes a court undoing an earlier order, and it applies to more than convictions. In Nebraska, a court may set aside a forfeiture of a recognizance. A recognizance is a bail obligation. Once the forfeiture is set aside, Nebraska law directs the court to release the people bound by the bail and to release the bail itself. [3][5]

Is a set-aside the same as vacatur or expungement?

The sources here do not settle how the terms relate. Florida's rule names vacating and setting aside side by side in its title, but it does not define either term separately. Nothing here compares a set-aside with expungement or sealing. Each state uses its own vocabulary, so a local lawyer is the person who knows what a given order does where they practice. [6]

Can someone who pleaded guilty ask a Florida court for relief from the judgment?

Florida's Rule 3.850 covers people who pleaded guilty or nolo contendere (no contest), not only those convicted at trial. One of the grounds it lists is that the plea was involuntary. [6]

From the defense table

Families often hear "set aside" and assume it means the case has disappeared from every record. The words are short, but they do different work in different places, and they are easy to over-read. In my years as a Miami-Dade prosecutor, and in the defense work that followed, the question that mattered at both tables was the same: what exactly is the court being asked to undo, and on what basis? A lawyer can explain the practical side of an order: what it changes, what stays in public records, and what a background check might still show. I am licensed only in Florida. Other states use their own terms and procedures, and a lawyer where the case was heard knows them.

General professional perspective · How practitioner notes are prepared

Antonio G. Jimenez — former prosecutor, then criminal defense attorney for about ten years. Observations from practice, not a prediction about any case.