MA Record Expungement Bill Offers ‘Fresh Start’ to Juveniles

Longstanding criminal justice records have been known to haunt people long after they’ve been punished — and much of what determines whether or not old records get sealed or expunged depends on the state where the crime was committed. 

For some individuals in Massachusetts, getting old juvenile records expunged has been a lifelong process, in many cases preventing them getting an education, housing, or job opportunities. 

Now, reform advocates in Massachusetts say that the state, despite being particularly unforgiving when it comes to allowing prior arrest or conviction records to be expunged, has a chance to lean into change and further expunge some juvenile records after a period of time, reports the Salem News. 

Massachusetts already allows the sealing and expungement of some juvenile records after a period of time, but advocates are quick to note that it’s limited, and people with juvenile records still struggle to get some charges removed, while other misdemeanors don’t qualify for expungement in Massachusetts. 

A proposal filed by state Democratic legislator Cynthia Creem before the Judiciary Committee would expand the list of offenses that could be expunged from a juvenile record, while also prohibiting law-enforcement from sending juvenile criminal records to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the juvenile’s protection.

Creem claims her proposal would give young adults the “fresh start” they need for a “new life” and to access opportunities they couldn’t before. 

“Having a juvenile record carries a stigma that can limit individuals’ access to higher education requirements and even military options,” she told the panel, as quoted by Salem News. “It makes it more difficult for a young person to move forward and avoid future criminal behavior.”

Currently, in Massachusetts, a 2018 overhaul of the system made it so that there are two reasons why someone could have records expunged: they have only one charge committed before they turn 21, or if the offenses they committed are no longer illegal, such as marijuana possession. 

For felony charges, the Salem News details that petitioners have to wait at least seven years, misdemeanors mean waiting three years. Ultimately, major convictions like murder, drunk driving, battery, and other sexual offenses like rape cannot be expunged. 

However, the limited scope of the law means that not everyone can take advantage of expungement, as seen by the fact that in 2020, the probation office received only 586 expungement requests despite hundreds of thousands of qualifiers. 

The Crime Report detailed earlier this year that a University of Michigan study found that most people eligible for expungement don’t apply for it — only 6.5 percent — but that people who do get their criminal records wiped tend to have “extremely low subsequent crime rates, comparing favorably to the general population.”

See Also: Online Criminal Records Impose ‘Digital Punishment’ on Millions of Americans: Study

The EACH Program

In tandem with legislative change like what Creem is working towards, existing programs like the  Emerging Adult Court of Hope, also known as EACH, aims to help juveniles and young adults with records to access and achieve a life that they deserve, according to WGBH.org. 

EACH, created by Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and nonprofit Roca in March 2020, offers high-risk young adults ages 18 to 24 the opportunity to stay out of prison, then have their records expunged and sealed in exchange for completion of a four-phased program. 

Within the program, the young adults must attend therapy, find supportive housing, stay away from crime and keep a continuous work schedule.

“It does involve such an investment in one’s self that they really had to be in a position where it was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go to jail for a while, I’m going to stay here, or I’m going to join this court and do the work,’” Christine “Chris” Judd, the director of Roca Springfield and Holyoke, told WGBH. 

Marc, a program participant, told WGBH that he was drawn to the program because he was finally given a chance to work and get out of his situation. That, and the opportunity for his recorded mistakes to be erased so they couldn’t haunt his future, drove him to make change. 

“I could do the jail time, but I can also stay free and just work my way up, and stay out, and get this wiped off my record,” he explained.

Additional Reading: ‘Criminal Records on the News Have Long-Term Economic Effects

Andrea Cipriano is Associate Editor of The Crime Report.