Courts prepared for felony expungement law taking effect July 15

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Thursday, July 14, 2016, 3 p.m. — Kentucky’s new felony expungement law goes into effect Friday, July 15, and the state’s court system is prepared to handle the first wave of applicants.

House Bill 40 allows certain Class D felony convictions to be expunged, and created a process for defendants to petition the courts have his or her conviction vacated and expunged.

If the petition is granted, the original judgment is vacated and the charges dismissed. The charges will be removed from court records.

“This legislation will help people who have done their time, completed their sentences and lived law-abiding lives for many years,” AOC General Counsel Marc A. Theriault said. “It will affect tens of thousands of Kentuckians and we’re expecting a huge volume of petitioners based on the calls we’ve received and the interest shown so far.”

DOWNLOAD: AOC publication “How to Vacate & Expunge a Felony Conviction.”

The AOC has been working with the Governor’s Office, the Kentucky State Police, the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet and other criminal justice partners to prepare for the transition.

“The court system is the hub of activity for this piece of legislation,” Theriault said. “Working with state partners, we’ve put in countless hours to revise legal forms and update our electronic case management systems to communicate with other state agencies. We’ve also made changes to our eFiling program so attorneys can file expungement cases electronically.”

A new section on the Kentucky Court of Justice website includes information on HB 40 as well as legal forms and a list of offenses eligible for expungement, as well as a step-by-step guide explaining the process.

Drug possession, criminal mischief, receiving stolen property and flagrant nonsupport represent a majority of the convictions that people will seek to expunge, Theriault said. Extremely serious felonies, such as sex crimes, public corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking, are not eligible for expungement.

Those seeking expungement are advised to be patient as they begin the application process, Theriault said.

“The process could take up to six months or more, especially given the high volume of petitioners we expect to apply for expungement,” he said. “This is a complicated process that will be handled across multiple state agencies. There’s such a huge interest that the volume will exceed what these agencies have seen before.”

MORE INFO. Please visit http://courts.ky.gov/ and click on “Record Expungement” or visit http://www.cleanslatekentucky.com/

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