NEW LAW EXPANDS ELIGIBILITY EXPUNGEMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA TO CONVICTIONS OF SUMMARY OFFENSES
By Douglas K. Marsico, Esquire
I often receive telephone calls from individuals who want to have their criminal record expunged. "Expungement" is an order of court requiring all relevant law enforcement agencies to erase a record of a criminal arrest or conviction. Expungement is available only in limited circumstances, and the unfortunate caller is usually not eligible. Expungement is only available when:
(1) The offender has successfully completed an Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition ("ARD") Program;
(2) The offender is over the age of seventy with no criminal convictions in the preceding ten years;
(3) The offender who was previously convicted of possession, consumption or transportation of alcohol by a minor is now over the age of twenty-one and has satisfied all terms and conditions of their sentence;
(4) The offender's case has no disposition recorded in the central repository within eighteen months after the date of the arrest and no further action is pending; or
(5) The offender has been dead for three years. I have yet to receive a request from the dead.
Recently enacted amendments now add summary offenses to the category of offenses eligible for expungement. Under the new law, an offender may have a summary offense expunged provided the offender has not been arrested or prosecuted any time in the previous five years. Examples of summary offenses are some retail thefts, harassment, simple trespassing, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. Summary retail thefts are the most common summary convictions that lead to later problems with employment.
The new law does not affect misdemeanor and felony convictions. Those who wish to have misdemeanor and felony convictions removed from their criminal record must try to obtain a pardon. The pardons process begins with an application to the Board of Pardons which is followed by an extensive investigation by agents for the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. The application is then voted on by the Board of Pardons as whether to even give the offender a hearing. If approved, the offender is allowed to appear for a public hearing before the Board of Pardons. If three of the five members of the Board recommend a pardon, then the offender's application will be presented to the Governor for approval. The pardons process can take several years. Typically, pardons will only be granted to offenders who have been free of arrest for many years and who have made positive changes in their lives since the commission of the crime.
If you believe you are eligible for an expungement or pardon, call Doug Marsico at (717) 232-7661 for assistance.
