LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville attorney said it makes "absolute sense" to expand Kentucky's expungement process as a newly filed bill in Frankfort aims.
The result of House Bill 417, if it passes, would clear the criminal records for thousands of eligible people who were convicted of traffic, misdemeanor and some non-violent felony cases.
The bill in the Kentucky legislature would require the state's court system to automatically expunge, or erase, old criminal records without a person having to pay or even make a request.
Todd Lewis with Lewis Law in Louisville said it's a sensible bill that he's thankful is being driven with bipartisan support.
"We already have a little bit of an automatic expungement process," Lewis said. "This one would just complete the process entirely, and it make absolute sense to me."
The bipartisan bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, would require the state Administrative office of the Courts, which runs the court system, and Kentucky State Police to identify by August 2024 all eligible cases that have not been expunged and then continue the practice every month after. Jason Nemes R-Louisville, signed on as a co-sponsor.
HB 417 calls for the lists of eligible cases to be sent every month to the court where the case was handled and "shall" be expunged within 30 days, according to the bill. The person whose charges were expunged would be notified.
Lewis said as the process is now, filing for an expungement can have several steps.
"It's kind of a lengthy and somewhat detailed process, which an average, non-lawyer could have some trouble with," Lewis said. "And, frankly, if it's a person that's struggling a lot anyway — potentially even homeless, for example, and have other struggles in their life — it's often just beyond the ability for people to carry out."
However, another Louisville attorney, Benham Sims, said HB 417 is incomplete. He said a bill like this that goes so far as to guarantee expungement would require more resources to be carried out properly.
"Expungement is meant as a sign of judicial grace," Sims said Thursday. "If you have paid your price to society — you are not a repeat offender, you don't have pending cases — it is the opportunity for a judge to look at your old record, to look at what's going on now with you and to look at what steps you're taking to move your life around and move forward. That's not going to be present."
Clearing a person's criminal record helps not only with obtaining jobs, but the expungements of felony charges allows a person to vote again, own a gun and participate in their kids' school activities, among other benefits.
A conviction would be eligible to be expunged five years after it was disposed of, meaning after any jail or probation sentence is served or restitution is paid. It would apply to non-violent felony cases. A conviction is eligible to be expunged five years after it was disposed of, meaning after any jail or probation sentence is served or restitution is paid.
A 2019 study conducted at the University of Michigan Law School found people who received expungements saw their wages increase on average by 25% within two years.
Related Stories:
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
