Turning Point USA

A new California law which goes into effect later this year will offer eligible individuals the opportunity to have their criminal records automatically expunged, or at least sealed from public knowledge. The law will apply to nearly all criminals, with the exception of registered sex offenders, but including convicted felons.

The law states that ex-offenders who have served time on or after January 1, 2005, have completed their sentences in full, and have not been convicted of another felony in the past four years will be eligible for the “clean slate” initiative. It does not make any obvious mention of whether or not misdemeanor charges within the four year time period will prevent an individual’s records from being expunged.

“Those with violent or serious felonies in their backgrounds won’t get their records automatically sealed, but will be able to petition a court to have them sealed. Sex offenders will not be eligible.”

LAist

Those that meet the criteria will have their records automatically expunged upon request. Those classified as “violent felons” will, for the first time in state history, have the opportunity to have their records sealed. This means that the criminal records of these individuals would no longer be accessible by most employers or landlords, but will still be made available for public and private school employment background checks, as well as other public sector jobs. Law enforcement, courts, and the state justice department will also have access to the criminal record history.

Advocates for “clean slate” laws such as this claim that it is the best way to ensure ex-offenders are able to reintegrate into society without being discriminated against on the basis of their criminal history. For some criminal justice reform proponents, the progressive measures taken by SB 731 (and many similar laws passed in the previous 7 years) are not enough to dismantle the “racial inequities and disproportions” of the justice system.

“Last month, three California academics published a new analysis showing that the eligibility criteria for automatic record clearing can also exacerbate racial disparities. California’s record clearing laws — passed in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021 — have disproportionately benefited white Californians over Black Californians, the scholars found.”

” . . . racial disparities would likely persist until offenses classified as serious or violent, such as robbery, are included for automatic eligibility.”

VOX

The solution then, for the most radical justice reform champions, would be to expunge the records of violent criminals, allowing them back into society with minimal sentencing, and without allowing employers or landlords to know who they are welcoming in. This would not only put employers at risk for financial crimes or robberies, but would also put neighboring, law-abiding citizens at risk if landlords may conduct background checks and yet could not see pertinent safety information, such as a violent criminal history. Who are these laws intending to protect, the convicted felon, or the taxpaying, law-abiding citizen, unknowingly living next door?