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Jan. 21, 2016
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Assembly Democratic Legislation to Reform New Jersey’s
Expungement Laws Signed by Governor
(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by Assembly
Democrats Jerry Green, Grace L. Spencer, Reed Gusciora, Gordon Johnson, John F.
McKeon, Thomas Giblin, Benjie Wimberly and Annette Quijano to reform New
Jersey’s expungement laws has been signed by the governor.
“Expungement
offers an incentive against recidivism. It gives people who currently have
little chance of finding legal employment the opportunity to leave past
mistakes behind them, find a job and be productive,” said Green
(D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union). “The fact of the matter is, the system is working
against those individuals who have served their time and want to change and do
better.”
The new law
(A-206-471-1663-2879-3060-3108) reduces the statutory waiting period for an
expungement of a criminal conviction from 10 years to five years from the date
of the person’s last conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of
probation or parole or release from incarceration, whichever is later. In the
case of a disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense, the waiting
period is reduced from five years to three years. Individuals with a criminal
conviction or a conviction for a disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons
offense must apply for an expungement to the Superior Court in the county where
the conviction was adjudged.
“A criminal
record can affect a person’s ability to secure housing, employment and even
loans for school,” said Spencer (D-Essex). “How is a person supposed to
successfully reintegrate back into society when almost every road to
self-dependence is blocked by a criminal record?”
“Individuals who
have learned from their mistakes should not be defined by their criminal
records for the rest of their lives,” said Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon).
“These folks are going back into our communities. It makes sense that we make
it easier for them to become constructive citizens.”
“Putting your life
back together after being incarcerated can take time. It can take even longer
with a criminal record looming over you,” said Johnson (D-Bergen). “It is a
greater benefit to society when these individuals are able to put their past
behind them and lead better, more productive lives.”
The new law also
will allow expungement of conviction records for certain persons who have
completed the state’s special probation drug court program. The court may order
the expungement of all records and information related to all prior criminal
arrests, detention, convictions and proceedings for any offense enumerated in
the Criminal Code, Title 2C of the New Jersey statutes. A person is ineligible
for expungement if his or her records include a conviction for any offense that
had been previously barred from expungement.
An individual who
is successfully discharged on or after the law’s effective date, April 18,
2016, will be eligible to have all prior matters expunged only if he or she was
not convicted of any crime, disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly
persons offense while on special probation. An individual who was successfully
discharged prior to the law’s effective date will be eligible to have all
matters expunged that existed at the time of discharge only if he or she has
not been convicted of any crime of offense since his or her discharge date.
“Participants in
drug court have a far lower recidivism rate than offenders who are incarcerated
in state prisons,” said McKeon (D-Essex/Morris). “If we want these individuals
to continue on the right path, then we have to give them the chance to do
better instead of setting up roadblocks.”
“There’s no
benefit to continually punishing people who have served their time and now want
to redeem themselves,” said Giblin (D-Essex/Passaic). “We have to create
opportunities for individuals who want to be productive members of society,
which is very hard to do with a criminal record.”
“These individuals
successfully completed a substance abuse program. They did not break any laws
while in the program. They have demonstrated a desire to be and do better,”
said Wimberly (D-Bergen/Passaic). “Expunging their criminal records can help
them continue on the path to recovery.”
In the case of
individuals with an arrest or charge that did not result in a conviction or
finding of guilt – whether the proceedings were dismissed, or the person was
acquitted or discharged – the following would apply:
·
if the proceedings took place in Superior Court,
the court, at the time of dismissal, acquittal or discharge, would order the
expungement of all records and information relating to the arrest or charge; or
·
if the proceedings took place in municipal
court, the municipal court would provide the person, upon request, with
appropriate documentation to transmit to the Superior Court to request an
expungment, and the Superior Court, upon receipt of the documentation with an
expungement request would take action to order the expungement of all records
and information relating to the arrest or charge. A person seeking such an
expungement would not be charged an application fee for taking such action.
“The lingering
effects of a criminal record can make the difference between successful
reintegration and reentry. These individuals went through the judicial process
and were absolved,” said Quijano (D-Union). “The sooner their records are
expunged, the sooner they can get back to normal.”
The measure was
signed into law on Tuesday.
