Bill > S1114

This bill aims to establish an automated record sealing process for criminal and juvenile court records in Massachusetts, reducing the burden on individuals to manually request record sealing. The bill requires the Commissioner of Probation to automatically seal criminal records after specific waiting periods: 3 years for misdemeanors and 7 years for felonies, provided the person has not been convicted of additional offenses during those periods. For juvenile records, an automated sealing process will occur 3 years after court disposition, assuming no subsequent criminal involvement. The bill mandates that correctional facilities and justice information services report release dates to support this automated process, and requires that individuals be notified about potential record sealing at the time of their court disposition. Certain serious offenses, such as those related to firearms, public corruption, and sex offenses, are exempted from automatic sealing. Sex offense convictions will still require a manual sealing request. The bill also ensures that individuals can still seek record sealing if an automated process fails due to administrative errors or record unavailability. The implementation of this automated record sealing system is set to begin 18 months after the bill's passage, with an initial bulk sealing of eligible past records within three months of the effective date.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1114