H. B. 2046


(By Delegate Givens)

[Introduced February 14, 2001 ; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]





A BILL to amend and reenact section sixteen-a, article one, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to reducing the time for eligibility for expungement of criminal records of persons receiving a full, unconditional pardon from the governor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section sixteen-a, article one, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1. THE GOVERNOR.

§5-1-16a. Expungement of criminal record upon full and unconditional pardon.

(a) Any person who has received a full and unconditional pardon from the governor, pursuant to the provisions of section eleven, article VII of the constitution of West Virginia and section sixteen of this article, may petition the circuit court in the county where the conviction was had to have the record of such conviction expunged. The petition shall be served upon the prosecuting attorney of the county where the petition was filed. Any person petitioning the court for an order of expungement shall publish a notice of the time and place that such petition will be made, which notice shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county where the petition is filed. The circuit court, upon verification of the act of pardon and after a hearing to determine that good cause exists, may enter an order directing that all public record of the petitioner's conviction be expunged.
(b) The record expunged pursuant to the provisions of this section may not be considered in an application to any educational institution in this state or an application for any licensure required by any professional organization in this state.
(c) No person shall be is eligible for expungement pursuant to this section until two years after having been pardoned.
(d) No person shall be is eligible for expungement pursuant to this section until twenty five years after the discharge of his or her sentence upon the conviction for which he or she was pardoned.
(e) No person shall be is eligible for expungement of a record of conviction of first degree murder, as defined in section one, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code; treason, as defined in section one, article one of said chapter; kidnaping, as defined in section fourteen-a, article two of said chapter; or any felony defined in article eight-b of said chapter.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce from 20 years to 5 years the time in which a person, who has had a sentence discharged by pardon, may petition for expungement of criminal record.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.