Relates to a petition for expungement of records for certain juveniles convicted of a nonviolent offense after five years

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of the bill adds a new section 440.75 to the Criminal Procedure Law, setting out the criteria and procedures for expunging a non-violent record of conviction.

Section two is the effective date. New CPL 440.75's provisions include the following:

(Subdivision 1) An applicant must be requesting expungement of a non-violent offense (s)committed between the ages of seven and eighteen.

(Subdivision 2) An applicant must have served the full sentence, including any supervision component, and must have completed a five year waiting period.

(Subdivision 3) The application along with any supporting documents demonstrating the steps the petitioner has taken since the time of the offense toward personal rehabilitation is to be made to the district attorney servicing the county of conviction; the superintendent of the state police and the police department in the jurisdiction of conviction and the judge or justice who imposed sentence.

(Subdivision 4) law enforcement agencies must issue a written decision stating reasons for the decision unless the application is granted without objection.

(Subdivision 5) the applicant may appeal on unfavorable decision.

Justification

A criminal offense can follow a person for the rest of his or her life. Even if he or she has been fully reformed and has committed no further criminal acts, the record still exists and often forms the basis for discrimination in college entry, vocational training, employment or other areas.

While New York has a public policy of assisting ex-offenders by prohibiting employment discrimination based on criminal history (see Correction Law Article 23-A), information available over the internet that provides criminal history information about individuals, may reflect a conviction that occurred long ago and that may hinder college entry, vocational training or employment opportunities for someone who has been a law abiding citizen for several years. Current law does not provide a mechanism for addressing the employment discrimination problems created by technological advances. This is especially true of juveniles who succumb to peer pressure and other outside influences as their brain was not fully developed and hence lacked the ability to make rational and sound judgments regarding their behavior. This bill provides such a mechanism.

Many young adults who made mistakes in the past and have led law abiding lives since their convictions have been denied entry into colleges, vocational trainings or have either lost jobs due to the economic downturn, have lost jobs because employers began checking criminal records, or have afraid to apply for new and better jobs because they fear they will be asked about criminal records. Job applicants are routinely asked about criminal records and eliminated from consideration for crimes that occurred years, or even decades, ago.

Over the last ten years, the free flow of information over the Internet, live data feeds, sales of databases, etc. have made it easy for colleges, and employers to obtain criminal record information. Even applicants for low paying jobs are subject to criminal records questions on applications and/or criminal records checks. It is critical that the Legislature act now to establish a mechanism for expunging records before our youth, the future of New York, are unable to contribute to society in a meaningful way and become a burden upon the taxpayers of the state.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.