Expunge Past Records
Air Date:01/31/2012
Past arrests might be wiped from background checks. The state senate passed a bill that erases arrests from criminal records when a case is dismissed. After one year, the arrested person can apply to the court for an expunging order if they don't face any more charges. It also applies if a prosecutor dismisses a case, or if there is an acquittal. Senator Russell Olson drafted the bill after a constituent. The person wasn't being hired because of a prior arrest, however she wasn't prosecuted.
"And they're interviewing her, they love her, they offer her the job. It happened twice to her. In the final paperwork they ask her, ‘Have you ever been arrested for felony drug possession?' She has to check yes, because she had been arrested. She was never tried or found guilty of that. The prosecuting attorney dropped the charges, but that record still shows that she was arrested for that," Senator Olson says.
The bill goes to House committee riding a unanimous vote.
By Travis Berg
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