Clean Slate Law Archives - JDP

Connecticut’s Clean Slate Law Faces Another Implementation Delay

marymae — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:27:06 +0000

April 14, 2024

Representatives from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s administration have announced another delay. This delay affects the state’s Clean Slate law, once again preventing its full implementation from taking effect. As such, those hoping for automatic expungements from the Clean Slate law must wait longer.

This delay follows an announcement from three months ago about the law taking effect in January 2024. Had it begun, it would have expunged the misdemeanors and felonies of over 80,000 individuals. According to the representatives, the state has successfully cleared the records of approximately 13,600 people. This effort amounted to roughly 33,000 charges.

Of these 33,000 charges, approximately 30,000 expunged offenses are for misdemeanors, and the remaining are qualifying low-level felonies.

Under the Clean Slate law, offenses qualifying for automatic erasure include:

Any unclassified (less than one-year imprisonment) or classified misdemeanor after a seven-year wait from the most recent conviction
Class D, E, or unclassified (less than five years of imprisonment) felonies and any convictions for operating under the influence after a ten-year wait from the most recent conviction
Have not received convictions of other crimes during this wait period

The automatic expungement applies to offenses with resulting convictions dated on or after January 1, 2020. Furthermore, individuals must complete all sentence requirements to qualify for the automatic erasure. Such requirements may include prison time, parole and special parole, and/or probation.

The state previously estimated that over 80,000 people would qualify for automatic erasures under state law, which would amount to roughly 178,000 offenses. Initially, it should have cleared by the end of January 2024. The data provided by the state shows how it has fallen short of the goal.

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection is one of the agencies responsible for rolling out the Clean Slate law. As such, the Department reported details about the delays. According to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the reasons for the delay include aging data systems and inaccurate data. The state previously thought it had cleared the long-running technology issues after its $8 million information technology upgrades, which finished in December last year.

The Lamont Administration announced that they expect another 65,000 individuals to see their records expunged in the upcoming weeks. The goal is to expunge all qualifying records from January 1, 2000, within the next 12 months. However, many have criticized the progress due to delays in information about the Clean Slate progress and obstacles.

Disclaimer:

Information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only and should not constitute as legal advice. We recommend you contact your own legal counsel for any questions regarding your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.

Source

The post Connecticut’s Clean Slate Law Faces Another Implementation Delay appeared first on JDP.

How Minnesota’s Clean Slate Law Could Help You

naomioverstreet — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:25:50 +0000

How Minnesota’s Clean Slate Law Could Help You

November 27, 2023

Minnesota legislature recently passed a Clean Slate law that automatically expunges non-violent offenses. This law will take effect in 2025, easing the expungement process for many individuals affected by these criminal records.

This legislation marks Minnesota as the 11th state to pass a Clean Slate law. The new law could help more individuals because it expands the number of people who will be eligible to file an expungement. Before this law, Minnesota had already established an expungement process. However, it made expungement costly and time-consuming.

Why It Came Up

Many people did not expunge their records because of these issues. This result inspired Santa Clara University to conduct a study on the expungement rates. According to the data, only 5% of eligible residents in Minnesota have expunged their records. However, 60% of people with criminal records qualify for expungement.

Individuals interested in expungement must understand that this process does not eliminate the record. It only prevents the information from appearing on standard background checks. As such, your potential employer or landlord would not see these offenses in your background check reports.

However, law enforcement agencies could still access these expunged records. Other agencies that maintain access include the courts, the Department of Human Services, and other licensing boards. As such, they may review these records when conducting background checks on you.

How to Qualify

If you have eligible non-violent offenses, you can expect to see them automatically expunged as early as 2025. Examples of qualified records include dismissed petty and gross misdemeanors. Petty and gross misdemeanors for individuals who completed a diversion program or stay-of-adjudication also qualify.

You must complete at least two years before your records become eligible for automatic expungement. This waiting period applies if you have eligible petty misdemeanors and discharged sentences. Eligible gross misdemeanors have a three-year waiting period after discharging the punishment. Violent offenses, as well as certain other offenses, will not qualify for automatic expungement.

Crimes typically eligible for expungement include theft, property damage, and receiving stolen property. You may also find offenses such as fifth-degree drug possession or sales qualify. However, you must avoid further charges during this waiting period. Failure will disqualify you for automatic expungement.

This law could give many Minnesota residents better employment and housing opportunities. Until then, interested individuals may petition for an expungement. Should your petition succeed, consider running a self-background check before applying for jobs or housing. This self-check will inform you whether the expunged records are still visible and allow you to make corrections before anyone screens your background.

Try running a self background check today and give yourself a head start on your next opportunity.

Source

The post How Minnesota’s Clean Slate Law Could Help You appeared first on JDP.