Jul 20, 2009 4 min read

A bill that has passed in the state House of Representatives would allow people convicted of certain third-degree misdemeanors to petition the court to have their record expunged if they have been free from trouble for seven years. Co-sponsored by Reps. Deberah Kula and Timothy S. Mahoney, the bill requires those who want to have their criminal past expunged to petition the court to clear their record. It now moves to the state Senate for a vote. Mahoney, D-South Union Township, said he co-sponsored the bill because he believes that sometimes people need another chance.

“Sometimes people need that second chance in life to clean up their record. You don’t want something dumb happening in college that you regret for the rest of your life,” Mahoney said.

He said he felt it was important to note that the bill does not allow people convicted of violent crimes, firearms or crimes committed against law enforcement personnel to have their record expunged.

It also precludes anyone convicted of animal cruelty charges, or who is subject to the provisions of Megan’s Law, from asking their record be cleared.

Kula, D-North Union Township, said the bill could potentially include crimes such as retail theft and bad checks.

“This bill would give those people who were foolish at the age of 18, but are now older and seeking a job a chance to have their record expunged,” Kula said.

Kula noted that the bill requires that the person asking for the record be expunged be free from another arrest or prosecution for seven years after final release from confinement or supervision.

“Expungement of third-degree misdemeanors will not be automatic – as in current law, it will still be solely at the discretion of the court,” she noted.

A judge would be able to consider the nature of the offense, the impact on a victim, information about the defendant and how long has elapsed before the request to expunge a record is made.

The bill calls for the district attorney to receive notice of the request.

Even with the exceptions listed in the bill, Fayette County District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon questioned the wisdom of expunging the records of third-degree misdemeanors.

She indicated that there are some charges, such as disorderly conduct or harassment, where police have the option of filing a summary citation or a misdemeanor charge. The difference between the two is that a citation is resolved at the magistrate’s level, usually with a fine, and a misdemeanor charge goes through the Court of Common Pleas.

“If a police officer opted to do a Misdemeanor 3 instead of a summary offense, then that means there was something significant about the case,” Vernon said. “Where do we draw the line, and what do we start considering as ‘not major’ to have on your record?”

While she said she understands someone seeking to have a record expunged to help them get a job, Vernon said a potential employer that does background checks should know the person they are hiring.

“I would want to know if someone had a misdemeanor disorderly conduct or harassment if I were going to hire him to work with other people. That would mean to me that it was more significant, or it would have been classified as a summary to get finished with it,” she said.

If the bill passes, Vernon said the office would carefully consider requests, and determine why they are being made.

Currently, people can apply to the district attorney’s office to have summary offenses expunged, she said, but it is rare that anyone files such a petition. Additionally, anyone admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program automatically has his or her record expunged.

The ARD program is a pretrial program for first-time offenders, and covers a myriad of different offenses.

Currently, those seeking to have misdemeanor records expunged have to petition the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. The process can take as long as four years to have a ruling.

Mahoney said that changing the system could help free up the board for more important cases, and potentially save the state money.

“In addition to moving these minor petitions to the local courts, where they can be dealt with quicker and at less expense, the bill would also raise money for law enforcement and the court system,” Mahoney said.

Anyone who files a petition has to pay a $100 fee to the clerk of courts when the petition is filed. Half of that fee goes to the state police, and the other half goes to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.