8/31/2020 N I A S I G T A R T I V E C N R O I M I S E S I C M O M Automatic Expungement August 31, 2020 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Overview R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Background Other States Automatic Expungement Draft Legislation 2 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 1
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Background R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M A criminal charge or conviction can impact many areas of a person’s life, such as: Employment • Higher education and financial aid • Housing • Immigration • • Loan eligibility and credit • Professional licensing Social stigma • 3 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Background R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Virginia’s current expungement process is petition-based and does not allow convictions to be expunged. Virginia State Police receives approximately 4,000 expungement orders for non-convictions per year. 4 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 2
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Other States R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Map by Crime Commission staff based on legal analysis. 5 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Other States R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Map by Crime Commission staff based on legal analysis. Map by Crime Commission staff based on legal analysis. 6 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 3
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Other States R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Criteria in other states for petition-based expungement/sealing of a conviction: Eligible offenses • Time limits • Quantity limits • Restitution • 7 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Other States – Eligible Offenses R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Some states limit the types of convictions eligible for expungement: • 30 of the 41 states that allow for misdemeanor expungements exclude some offenses. 19 of the 36 states that allow for felony • expungements exclude violent felony offenses. Some common exclusions are sex offenses, domestic battery, and DUI. 8 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 4
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Other States – Time Limits R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Misdemeanor convictions are most commonly eligible for expungement after 3 – 5 years. Felony convictions are most commonly eligible for expungement after 5 – 10 years. 9 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Other States – Quantity Limits R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M 10 of the 36 felony states and 16 of the 41 misdemeanor states do not set limits on the number of convictions that can be expunged. Other states set limits on how many convictions can be expunged, such as: Colorado: 1 felony every 12 months • • Louisiana: 1 felony every 15 years • Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Jersey: 1 felony 10 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 5
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Other States – Restitution R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M States vary on whether restitution must be paid prior to a conviction being expunged: • 17 states require restitution to be paid before expungement; 4 states allow for expungement before restitution is • paid in full; 1 state requires unpaid restitution to be noted in • the petition for expungement; and, • 19 states do not reference restitution in their expungement statutes. 11 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Automatic Expungement R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Staff identified 4 states that have enacted legislation to automatically expunge convictions and non-convictions for numerous criminal offenses. Benefits of automatic expungement: Increases access to the process. • No action required by the individual. • No financial cost to the individual. • 12 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 6
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Automatic Expungement R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Pennsylvania Non-convictions are automatically expunged. • Certain misdemeanor convictions are • automatically expunged after 10 years without a misdemeanor or felony conviction. Certain prior convictions will disqualify a • person from automatic expungement, such as a felony, four misdemeanors, indecent exposure, and various other offenses. 13 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Automatic Expungement R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M California Timeframes for automatic expungement of non-convictions • vary based on whether criminal proceedings were initiated. • Misdemeanors and infractions are automatically expunged after 1 year from conviction if not sentenced to probation. An offense is automatically expunged if a person is • sentenced to only probation and the person completes that sentence without a revocation of probation. A person will not qualify for automatic expungement if they • are a registered sex offender, or if they are on active probation, serving a sentence for another offense, or have pending criminal charges. 14 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 7
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Automatic Expungement R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Utah Non-convictions are automatically expunged. • • Dismissals without prejudice are automatically expunged after 180 days. • Certain misdemeanor convictions are expunged after 5 – 7 years. • A person will not qualify for automatic expungement if they have unpaid fines, fees, or restitution, pending criminal charges, or certain prior convictions on their criminal records. 15 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N Automatic Expungement R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M New Jersey • Enacted legislation in 2019 to implement an automated expungement system. A task force has been created to examine • technological, fiscal, and practical issues and challenges of such a system. Other states are considering automatic expungement, such as: Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, • and Washington. 16 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 8
8/31/2020 N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R T T I I V V E E C C N N Draft Legislation R R O O I I M M I I S S E E S S I I C C M M O O M M Automatic expungement of: Non-convictions immediately • Convictions for certain felonies and • misdemeanors after 8 years with no subsequent out-of-state or CCRE convictions Limits access and dissemination of records Protections for employment, education, and housing applications 17 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION N N I I A A I I S S G G T T A A R R I I T T V V E E C C N N R R O O I I I I M M S S E E S S M M I I C C O O M M Discussion 18 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION 9
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