New Kentucky law to expunge some felonies and vacate convictions

K

KyJim

New member
Kentucky has passed a law which goes into effect July 15th which allows some felonies to be vacated, the charges to be dismissed with prejudice, and the record of the felony expunged. House Bill 40 allows expungement of 61 specific Class D felonies (of more than 300 existing Class Ds). These are non-violent type offenses. They cover 70% of the Class D felonies committed in the last five years. The bill is located here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/16RS/HB40/bill.pdf

Those eligible must have committed only one Class D felony (the lowest class felony punishable by 1 to 5 years) and must wait five years after completion of his or her sentence, parole, or probation before moving the circuit court for relief..This is a one-shot deal; i.e., they don’t get a second expungement chance later in life.

Commonwealth attorneys can object within time limits set out in the legislation. The language says the judge “may order the judgment vacated, and if the judgment is vacated the court shall dismiss with prejudice any charges which are eligible for expungement . . . .”

The judge can then order all records in the court’s possession to be expunged as well as those in the possession of “any other agency or official.” Computer records are to be deleted to the extent they would show up on a background check. The legislation specifically authorizes the person not to disclose the matter on any application, including employment and credit applications.

Once there is an expungement order, the person may move an appellate court to order the case file sealed and order any appellate opinion on the court’s web site to be altered to avoid the use of the person’s name in the case caption or the body of the opinion.

There’s no mechanism for automatically reporting to the FBI the fact that the conviction has been vacated and dismissed with prejudice. I'm assuming it would still show up in a background check for a firearms purchase. I don't pretend to know federal law in this area but, since the state is dismissing the charges with prejudice, I would think there is an excellent argument to be made that the person would now be eligible to purchase a firearm unless ineligible for some other reason.
 
There is an express provision that restores voting rights. But it's not all about voting rights. There was some sentiment that a single mistake should not follow you the rest of your life -- jobs, housing, credit, etc. are all negatively affected by a felony.
 
I think we are trying to find a solution to a problem in the digital age:

It used to be that one might have a "minor" felony several years in the past, move out of town and state, and start over. A few lies on employment forms and one could rebuild a life without the past hanging over them.

Now having a felony can impact every aspect of your life. There is controversy at this point around some home owners associations and landlords are using a felony conviction as a non-qualification to housing. We all know it can impact employment and credit. On the other hand I feel that I should be able to know, as an employer, if a potential employee has a history of violence in order to provide a safe work place for others.

We have to decide, as a society, a method of not punishing those who are honest and check yes on that box while still having a way of having the protection of that box (assuming we decide that box is needed).

To me this seems like a reasonable way to tell people who have made a mistake in life, paid the penalty, and LIVED WITHOUT MORE ISSUES for awhile that there is, so to speak, a "path to redemption".

Desperate people who have made a mistake in life who have that mistake compound for the rest of their life do desperate things and reach a downward spiral.

And face it. Many of us have done stupid things in the past that we survived (and avoided a criminal record) only because we were lucky or did not get caught (or both).
 
On the other hand I feel that I should be able to know, as an employer, if a potential employee has a history of violence in order to provide a safe work place for others.
Click to expand...
I agree. The new law does not include any violent felonies. And, according to what I learned at the seminar I attended, those who commit these "low grade" felonies are no more likely to re-offend after five years being clean than those who have never committed a felony. That's the reason for the five year waiting period.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top