SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Introduced Version Senate Bill 142 History

OTHER VERSIONS  -  Committee Substitute (1)  |  Enrolled Version - Final Version  |     |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 142

(By Senator Kessler)

____________

[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

____________




A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-11-26, relating to the limited expungement of certain criminal records.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-11-26, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMES.
§61-11-26. Expungement of certain criminal convictions; procedure; effect.

(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor offense, which is not a crime of violence against the person or is a status offense which occurred while the person was eighteen years of age but less than twenty-six years of age, may petition the circuit court in which the conviction occurred for expungement of the conviction and the associated records. The person may make a motion in the circuit court of the county of conviction to expunge all records relating to the arrest, charge or other matters arising out of the arrest or charge. The term "records" as used in this section includes, but is not limited to, arrest records, fingerprints, photographs, index references or other data, whether in documentary or electronic form, relating to the arrest, charge or other matters arising out of the arrest or charge.
(b) Following the filing of the petition, the court may set a date for a hearing. If the court does so, it shall notify the prosecuting attorney and the arresting agency of the motion and provide an opportunity for a response to the expungement motion.
(c) If the court finds that there are no current charges or proceedings pending relating to the matter for which the expungement is sought and that the petitioner has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving violence to the person of another or any sexual offense involving a minor, the court may grant the motion and order the sealing of all records in the custody of the court and expungement of any records in the custody of any other agency or official including law-enforcement records. Every agency with records relating to the arrest, charge or other matters arising out of the arrest or charge, that is ordered to expunge records, shall certify to the court within sixty days of the entry of the expungement order that the required expungement has been completed. All orders enforcing the expungement procedure shall also be sealed.
(d) Upon expungement, the proceedings in the matter shall be considered never to have occurred. The court and other agencies shall reply to any inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person whose record is expunged does not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating to the record on an application for employment, credit or other type of application.
(e) Inspection of the sealed records in the court's possession may after the expungement be permitted by the court only upon a motion by the person who is the subject of the records or upon a petition filed by a prosecuting attorney that inspection and possible use of the records in question are necessary to the investigation or prosecution of a crime in this state or another jurisdiction. If the court finds that the interests of justice will be served by granting the petition, it may be granted.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the limited expungement of certain criminal records for a nonviolent crime committed by a person between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print