Bill > S925

This bill aims to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence. It proposes several key changes to existing laws: 1. It reduces the waiting periods for sealing criminal records from 10 years to 7 years for certain offenses and from 5 years to 3 years for misdemeanor convictions. 2. It requires the state's criminal records department to include a written notice that the presumption of innocence should be considered when providing information about pending charges or charges that did not result in a conviction. 3. It prohibits housing authorities from requiring applicants to submit their own criminal records or case information. 4. It allows for immediate sealing of criminal charges that did not result in a conviction, and removes waiting periods for sealing charges that did result in a conviction. 5. It requires automatic sealing of juvenile records that did not result in an adjudication, and allows individuals to request sealing of past eligible juvenile charges without a waiting period. The overall goal of the bill is to reduce the collateral consequences of criminal records and protect the presumption of innocence, particularly for those who were not convicted of a crime.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S925