Why lawmakers want to remove an even broader spectrum of criminal records from public view
PROVIDENCE – With tens of thousands of crimes committed in Rhode Island already purged from state records as if they never happened, the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation to potentially purge thousands more.
Under current law, a person with an expunged criminal record can legally say they have never been convicted of a crime, unless they are applying for certain jobs, such as teaching or work in an early childhood education facility. The court record of their convictions would also be removed from public view.
Sen. Jake Bissaillon, who by day works for Justice Assistance, a tax exempt nonprofit dedicated to "reducing the social and monetary costs of justice," called the bill now headed to the House for consideration the next step in a years-long effort by the public defender's office and others to give people with criminal records a fresh start.
What does current law allow?
Current state law allows:
the expungement of a single felony from the record of a first-time offender 10 years after completion of their sentence,
the expungement of "fewer than six" misdemeanors from the record of someone with no felony convictions five years after completion of their sentence.
Bissaillon's bill would remove the no-felony requirement for the expungement of multiple misdemeanors.
Why it matters?
Bissaillon told colleagues the current no-felony requirement "flies in the face of basic fairness, runs counter to our goal of rehabilitation and defaces the principle of restorative justice,'' exacerbating "the economic struggle and societal stigma that comes with a record."
Though it's unstated in his bill, Bissaillon has acknowledged it could potentially allow the expungement of a more serious felony committed by someone with multiple expunged misdemeanors who was not, in fact, a "first offender."
No one else spoke for or against the bill before the 36-to-0 vote.
The Senate passed a second expungement bill
Bissaillon's bill was one of two expungement bills that cleared the Senate on Thursday, with backing from the state Public Defender's Office and the Commission for Human Rights.
The other bill, sponsored by senator and former state prosecutor Matthew LaMountain, would make it easier to expunge a felony conviction for a drug crime that is now considered a misdemeanor, as is now true for the possession of small amounts of drugs like cocaine and heroin.
"It's time we recognize – like many other states have – that simple drug possession is not felony conduct," said Neronha.
How many conviction records have already been expunged? Thousands
Each new opportunity for the expungement of records has marked a victory for the criminal-defense lobby, advocates for minorities and, in past years, the gun lobby, who try year after year to persuade lawmakers to remove more crimes from the state’s public records to open doors that might be closed to people with convictions.
Rhode Island’s existing laws were used to remove 11,598 cases from the public record in 2014 alone, the last year for which The Journal has numbers readily available. The five-year count at that point: 59,516 cases expunged.
And that was before lawmakers, as a matter of policy, allowed the removal from public view of upwards of 24,000 marijuana possession cases, with 10,000 more to go, the court administrator recently told legislators.
But the push to remove criminal records from public view has long coincided with a push, by some of the same lawmakers, to require more criminal background checks.
This year, Sen. Frank Lombardi is a co-sponsor of Bissaillon's bill to remove the no-felony standard for expungement of multiple misdemeanors. He is also the lead sponsor of a bill, slated for a vote by the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, to require state and national criminal background checks on drivers for hire, including drivers for transportation-network companies.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Why lawmakers want to remove more criminal records from public view
