Congratulations! Record Sealing Bill Passes

Legislative Update!  Congratulations

On March 29, 2011, Governor Hickenlooper signed HB 1167- Record Sealing Bill into law.  This is our first major victory at the Capitol for 2011. We also want to deeply thank our members who testified in support of the bill at the various legislative committees. The bill was approved by the House on a 64 -1 vote on March 1, 2011 and approved by the Senate on a 35-0 vote on March 21, 2011.
CCJRC would like to thank Maureen Cain, the lobbyist for the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, for her tireless work in support of this bill.   We also want to thank the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice for their work on this issue and of course the bill sponsors, Representative Mark Ferrandino, Representative Claire Levy, and Representative Pete Lee as well as Senator Pat Steadman and Senator Jeanne Nicholson.
Our Summer newsletter will contain a more complete summary from the legislation session.  We will let you know when State Judicial has update their website to get forms and instructions for the petition.
HB 1167 - Concerning the Petition Process for the Sealing of Certain Drug Offense Records
Under previous law, a person convicted of drug use or possession has to wait 10 years after completion of any sentence (including parole) and meet other eligibility criteria in order to petition the court to seal the criminal record.  Under this bill, the time-line is staggered based on the seriousness of the offense:  3 years on a petty offense or class 2 or 3 misdemeanor; 5 years on a class one misdemeanor; 7 years on a class 5 or 6 felony; and 10 years on any other drug crime.  The district attorney has the right to object to the petition or veto the request for all offenses except petty offenses.  Other provision in current law remain, including that:

• the defendant must not have been convicted of another offense during the waiting period
• the defendant must have paid all the court ordered restitution, fines, or fees in the case to be sealed
• the office of the state court administrator must post on its website a list of all petitions to seal conviction records that are filed with the district court.  The bill prohibits a district court from granting a petition to seal conviction records until at least 30 days following a posting.  

The provisions of the bill apply to convictions entered on and after July 1, 2011.  For convictions prior to July 1, 2011, the time frames of the bill are applicable but sealing of the criminal records is available only with the consent of the district attorney and subsequent court review and approval.  HB 1167 goes into effect upon signature of the Governor.  Read the full bill here  HB11-1167

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Also CCJRC has started our "Freedom Fighters" program.  Instead of giving larger donations once or twice a year, members are making generous monthly donations of $5, $10, $15 or more by credit or debit card or by check.  This allows CCJRC a real opportunity to budget and plan strategically throughout the year so that we can spend more of our time on fighting the battles we all care about and less time on fundraising. Our members really like it because they can budget their giving throughout the year.

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CCJRC, 1212 Mariposa St. #6, Denver Co 80204.  Thank you for your support!!

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