Posted: January 28, 2021
Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed March 14, 2021
URCrP042. Automatic expungement. NEW. A new rule establishing procedures for automatic expungement of certain cases described in Utah Code §77-40-114.
Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment
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Posted: January 28, 2021
URCrP042. Automatic expungement. NEW. A new rule establishing procedures for automatic expungement of certain cases described in Utah Code §77-40-114.
Is expungement the answer? I have clients who have been arrested, charged and then acquitted (or the case voluntarily dismissed for lack of evidence) and the the file is expunged. The problem is that the record of the arrest lives on in cyberspace and there no longer exists an Order of dismissal with Prejudice that can be used to clear the record. This is a real problem that I have encountered several times in my practice, and clients are left in limbo with a big question mark on their record – at least in the eyes of many.
I would propose:
(b) Cases eligible for automatic expungement
(b)(1) Records in the following case types may be expunged automatically:
(b)(1)(A) a case that resulted in an acquittal on all charges;
(b)(1)(B) except as provided in paragraph (b)(2), a case that is dismissed with prejudice; [STRIKE “and”]
[ADD] (b)(1)(C) except as provided in paragraph (b)(2), a case that is dismissed without prejudice and the statute of limitations on the underlying alleged offense has run; and
[RENUMBER] (b)(1)(D) a clean slate eligible case.
Is there a cost for the defendant in this process? Shouldn’t the AOC send a copy of the Order of Expungement to all agencies as defendant is required to?
Like the others, I am concerned about the full record being expunged. Within the Rule, the Expungement order needs to be sent to all agencies involved and include the arrest record in the expungement order. Additionally, a copy of the order should not only go to the prosecutor, but the defense attorney on record as well, or to the Defendant. I don’t see why the expungement order couldn’t be pushed out to everyone in the case to ensure there isn’t a problem post expungement with getting another copy of the order.
I don’t think the language is clear regarding how a class B conviction for DUI would be handled. It does include language that this is not a “traffic violation,” but can a DUI be eligible for the automatic expungement? Also, I think this proposed amendment is very good, and can help people who have something negative like these included charges on their criminal history.