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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 11, 2014 03:43 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Vanessa Lowery Brown and Rep. Justin J. Simmons |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | EXPUNGEMENT RIGHTS FOR PARDONED PERSONS |
| In the very near future, both Representative Justin Simmons and I will be introducing a measure that would statutorily enable persons that have successfully received an executive pardon by the Governor to petition the Court of Common Pleas for expunction of their pardoned conviction(s). Many of you may be surprised to know that merely receiving an executive pardon by the Governor in Pennsylvania does not automatically remove one’s pardoned conviction from their criminal record. In fact, the prospective employer of a pardoned person would still be apprised of the applicant’s criminal record upon running a standard background check. And while the answer to the question of whether or not an individual that has received an executive pardon for a conviction is eligible to petition the Court to expunge their pardoned convictions(s) cannot be found in Pennsylvania statute, we have been informed by the Pennsylvania State Police that this is in fact the case. Spurred by this ambiguity, glaring omission in Pennsylvania statute, and corresponding Pennsylvania case law, see Commonwealth v. C.S., 517 Pa. 90 (1987), which holds that expungement must follow an executive pardon, and Commonwealth v. J.C.K., 651 A.2d 144 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1994), which holds that limited expungement of one’s record must follow a conditional pardon, both Representative Simmons and I are proposing to further clarify this issue by statutorily enabling those that have successfully received an executive pardon to petition the Court of Common Pleas to expunge their pardoned conviction(s). As most of you are aware, obtaining an executive pardon in Pennsylvania is no easy feat. Therefore, it is our contention that if a person manages to meet and/or exceed the criteria prescribed by the PA Board of Pardons and successfully receives a pardon, they should consequently be afforded the opportunity to have the pardoned conviction(s) expunged from their record. As our General Assembly continues to wrestle with the issue of how far to expand expungement rights for formerly convicted persons, the fact of the matter remains that for many formerly convicted misdemeanants and felons, the executive pardon process will be their only viable form of legal recourse to obtain a second chance at redemption. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 97 percent of incarcerated persons will return back to the communities from which they came. In light of this sobering statistic, it is our belief that through our combined efforts to streamline and clarify the Commonwealth’s executive pardon process that we will be successful in further incentivizing Pennsylvania’s sizeable ex-offender population to become both law abiding and contributing members of society. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT THIS MEASURE HAS RECEIVED THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE, AND HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY THE PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S ASSOCIATION (WHICH HAS EXPRESSED THAT IT HAS NO OBJECTIONS). Therefore, both Representative Simmons and I strongly encourage members from both sides of the aisle to please join us in advancing this crucially important bipartisan initiative. For more information concerning this legislation, you are asked to please contact Brandon J. Flood at (717)772-6955 or bflood@pahouse.net. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB675