Colorado Bill Sealing Certain Criminal Records Awaiting Governor's Signature
A bill that would allow convicted criminals to seal certain criminal court records after a specified period of time is sitting on the desk of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and already drawing concern from those in favor of public disclosure.
This proposed law would allow convicted criminals in Colorado to petition the courts to have their criminal records sealed. Specifically, a convicted criminal would only be able to make this petition 10 years after their criminal case has ended, and that person would need to have no criminal convictions in this time period.
This proposed Colorado law would exclude certain types of convictions, including DUI, child abuse, sex offenses and traffic violations. For those people who qualify for such a petition and then have their requests granted, they would not have to indicate past criminal convictions on a job application, with the exception being a criminal justice agency.
Current Colorado law allows records to be sealed under two circumstances, when a person was not charged or the original charges were dismissed due to plea bargaining in another case. It also sets the time that an eligible person can petition for his or her records to be sealed at 15 years after the conclusion of the criminal case.
The Colorado Press Association has vehemently opposed this proposed law and already gotten it amended. The current form of this Colorado legislation includes a provision requiring court administers to post online notices of these requests for 30 days. This amendment would also allow the public to argue that certain conviction records should be unsealed and present any new information or evidence that would support such a viewpoint.
Even with these changes, the media is still opposed to the bill. Greg Romberg, a lobbyist for the press association, was quoted as saying on the group's website that public records should be open to the public. Romberg did say that the amended version of this proposed Colorado law does take away some of the negative aspects of the original bill. He especially indicated that allowing the public to argue that sealed cases should be unsealed could be a very important gain for the public's right to known, especially in situations where a person becomes a public figure when running for office.
Governor Ritter has until June 4th to sign this legislation, House Bill 1107. This proposed Colorado law was first introduced in the state House in January and approved by a 46-18 vote in April. Earlier this month, the Colorado Senate passed the bill with a 26-8 vote.
Visit The Law and Lawyers Blog and of course, Total Lawyers, for the latest updates on this proposed Colorado law. And if you've been arrested and need to learn more about your criminal record and criminal defense rights, don't delay.
Fill out our criminal defense evaluation form or call 1 (877) 445-1059, and we'll help you get in contact with a local criminal defense lawyer who can begin to answer your criminal defense questions.
