A second chance becomes possible
Legislation that made its way through the Arkansas Legislature last year could have a big impact on those who have been convicted of criminal offenses moving forward with their lives.
In Arkansas, criminal convictions aren’t “expunged,” exactly; instead, the state “seals records,” which is effectively the same thing. Two bills passed into law last year have changed the state’s regulations related to sealing criminal convictions, making it easier for some felons and people convicted of misdemeanors to put their past behind them.
When a person is convicted of a crime, they must complete all of the requirements of their sentence before they are eligible to petition to have their records sealed — what local attorney Caleb Baumgardner calls “getting off paper.”
Before Act 680 was signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, those who had been convicted of crimes but were eligible for record sealing, both misdemeanors and nonviolent Class C and D felonies (the lowest levels), had to wait for a designated period before they could petition to have their records sealed. For misdemeanor offenders, the waiting period was 60 days; for felons, it was five years.
Act 680 eliminated the waiting period for both classes of prior-offenders, allowing them to apply to have their records sealed immediately upon getting off paper. It also waived a $50 filing fee those who wished to have their records sealed had to pay.
“If you’re someone who’s been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that’s eligible to be sealed and you want to get a job that you couldn’t get otherwise or there’s something else that you want to do that having this on your record hinders you, this means that you can get it off your record sooner,” Baumgardner said. “This means that you can start your life again sooner. It makes getting that burden off of you a good deal easier and that’s important for a lot of people.”
Once a person has petitioned to have their records sealed, their local prosecuting attorney would have 90 days to object to their position. Act 57 shortened that period to 30 days.
“So maybe if you got convicted of a drug crime or something like that, that can be sealed,” he said. “It’s a way for people who have maybe suffered from an addiction but have beaten it and are trying to get their lives together, it’s a way for them to put that behind them, for example.”
Baumgardner noted that not all felonies can be sealed — no violent crimes, crimes against children or sexual crimes can be sealed, and those who serve time in the Arkansas Department of Corrections are not eligible to have their records sealed.
For nonviolent ex-offenders, having a clean record can mean the world — from employment to housing to child custody, it opens up opportunities and allows them to move on and rejoin society fully, he said.
“There’s a lot of talk from a lot of people about second chances, but in practice, getting that second chance legally is not always easy,” Baumgardner said. “This makes that process a little bit easier.”