An Act To Permit the Expungement of Records Relating to Proceedings That Do Not Result in Convictions
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA c. 313 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 313
EXPUNGEMENT OF RECORDS RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS THAT DO NOT RESULT IN CONVICTIONS
§ 2401. Definitions
1. Eligible records. "Eligible records" means records possessed by a state criminal justice agency, the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification or the Federal Bureau of Investigation that contain confidential criminal history record information pursuant to Title 16, section 703, subsection 2, paragraphs A to K that relates to a state crime.
2. Related criminal proceeding. "Related criminal proceeding" means a criminal proceeding involving a criminal offense based on the same conduct or arising from the same criminal episode as the offense or offenses that are the subject of the eligible records.
3. State criminal justice agency. "State criminal justice agency" means a government agency of this State or a subunit of a government agency at any government level that performs the administration of criminal justice within the meaning of Title 16, section 703, subsection 1 pursuant to a statute or executive order. "State criminal justice agency" includes courts of this State, the Department of the Attorney General and district attorneys' offices. "State criminal justice agency" does not include a federal government agency or a subunit of a federal government agency.
§ 2402. Requirements for expungement of eligible records
A court may order the expungement of eligible records only if:
1. No conviction. The person to whom the eligible records pertain has not been convicted of a criminal offense that is the subject of the eligible records and has not been convicted of a criminal offense in a related criminal proceeding;
2. No pending charges. The person to whom the eligible records pertain is not currently subject to the criminal proceedings described in the eligible records and is not currently subject to related criminal proceedings; and
3. Time. At least one year has passed after the date on which the person to whom the eligible records pertain was arrested, summonsed or charged as described in the eligible records or after the date on which the criminal proceedings described in the eligible records were finally concluded, whichever is later.
§ 2403. Motion
1. Motion; venue. A person to whom eligible records pertain may file a written motion in the underlying criminal proceeding seeking a court order expunging the eligible records. If eligible records exist that relate to an alleged criminal offense for which the person to whom the eligible records pertain has not been charged, that person may file a written motion seeking a court order expunging the eligible records in the District Court in the division where the person resides or in the division where the alleged criminal offense was alleged to have occurred.
2. Contents of motion. A written motion filed under subsection 1 must briefly address each of the requirements set forth in section 2402 for expungement of eligible records.
§ 2404. Process and decision
1. Counsel. A person filing a motion under section 2403 has the right to employ counsel but is not entitled to assignment of counsel at state expense.
2. Notification of the State; opportunity to object. Upon receipt of a motion filed under section 2403, the court shall submit a copy of the motion to the prosecutorial office that represented the State in the underlying criminal proceeding. If no underlying criminal proceeding occurred, the court shall submit a copy of the motion to the district attorney's office in the county where the court is located. The prosecutorial office or district attorney's office may file a written objection to the motion within 21 days of receiving the copy of the motion.
3. Decision without hearing. If no objection is filed under subsection 2, the court shall issue a written order granting the motion and shall submit a copy of the order to the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification.
4. Decision after hearing. If a timely objection is filed under subsection 2, the clerk shall set the motion for a hearing. The Maine Rules of Evidence do not apply to a hearing on a motion under this subsection, and evidence presented at the hearing may include testimony, affidavits and other reliable hearsay evidence as permitted by the court. At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court determines that the person who filed the motion has established by a preponderance of the evidence each of the requirements set forth in section 2402 for expungement of eligible records, the court shall issue a written order granting the motion. If the court grants the motion, it shall submit a copy of the order to the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification.
§ 2405. Fee
The Supreme Judicial Court may by administrative order establish the fee, not to exceed $20, for filing a motion under section 2403.
§ 2406. Effect of expungement order
If a court issues an order under section 2404, subsection 3 or 4 granting a motion to expunge eligible records:
1. Court records. The court shall destroy all eligible records described in the order that are in its custody, including electronic copies of those eligible records;
2. State Bureau of Identification records. The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification shall destroy all eligible records described in the order that are in its custody, including electronic copies of those eligible records;
3. State criminal justice agency records. The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification shall direct each state criminal justice agency to destroy all eligible records described in the order that are in the custody of that state criminal justice agency, including electronic copies of those eligible records; and
4. Federal Bureau of Investigation records. The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification shall make the necessary arrangements with the identification division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to have all references to the eligible records described in the order deleted from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's identification record.
The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
summary
This bill establishes a process for an individual who was arrested for or charged with a state crime, but who was not ultimately convicted of that state crime or a related crime, to seek expungement of all criminal history records held by a law enforcement agency or state court concerning the individual's arrest or the state court criminal proceeding.