Senate passes bill to make it easier to expunge criminal convictions. Here's why it matters.

PROVIDENCE – With tens of thousands of crimes committed in Rhode Island already purged from state records as if they never happened, the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation to potentially purge thousands more.

Under current law, a person with an expunged record can legally say they have never been convicted of a crime, unless they are applying for certain jobs, such as teaching or work in an "early childhood education facility."

Sen. Jake Bissaillon, who by day works for Justice Assistance, a tax exempt non-profit dedicated to "reducing the social and monetary costs of justice," called the bill the next step in an effort to give people with criminal records a fresh start.

Current law already allows the expungement of "fewer than six" misdemeanors from the record of someone with no felony convictions five years after completion of their sentence.

The legislation that won Senate approval Thursday would remove the no-felony requirement and, though unstated, potentially allow the expungement of a felony committed by someone with multiple expunged misdemeanors who was not, in fact, a "first offender."

Bissaillon told colleagues the current no-felony requirement "flies in the face of basic fairness, runs counter to our goal of rehabilitation and defaces the principle of restorative justice,'' exacerbating "the economic struggle and societal stigma that comes with a record."

"Studies have shown that removing the stigma of a criminal record leads to increased employment opportunities, reduced homelessness, and stronger communities. It also reduces recidivism," Bissaillon said.

No one else spoke for or against the bill before the 36-to-0 vote.

'People can change'

Bissaillon recently recounted this story as an example of why lawmakers should allow people convicted of a felony to have up to five misdemeanor convictions erased from the public record.

One of his clients had two felony convictions dating back to the late 1990s and, while going through a "rough patch with his partner at the time," was convicted of a domestic misdemeanor charge and simple assault, but, Bissaillon said, had in his opinion successfully rehabilitated.

"And he just didn't understand why at least those misdemeanor domestic disorderlies couldn't be expunged," Bissaillon told colleagues during an earlier Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. His client, he said, "had clearly changed" because his partner was "sitting by his side and they are now married."

"So I hope that we understand that people can change," Bissaillon continued. "[And] that we create a system that restores dignity for individuals," he said.

What would Bissaillon's bill do?

Bissaillon's bill was one of two expungement bills that cleared the Senate on Thursday, with backing from the state Public Defender's Office and the Commission for Human Rights.

If the House goes along, his would allow the expungement of up to five misdemeanors from the record of someone who had, at some point, also been convicted of a felony.

The other bill, sponsored by senator and former state prosecutor Matthew LaMountain, would make it easier to expunge a felony conviction for a drug crime that is now considered a misdemeanor, as is now true for the possession of small amounts of drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Attorney General Peter Neronha in the past called the reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor a "common-sense reform."

"It's time we recognize – like many other states have – that simple drug possession is not felony conduct," said Neronha.

How many conviction records have already been expunged?

Each new opportunity for the expungement of records has marked a victory for the criminal-defense lobby, advocates for minorities and, in past years, the gun lobby, who try year after year to persuade lawmakers to remove more crimes from the state’s public records to open doors that might be closed to people with convictions.

Rhode Island’s existing laws were used to remove 11,598 cases from the public record in 2014 alone, the last year for which The Journal has numbers readily available. The five-year count at that point: 59,516 cases expunged.

And that was before lawmakers, as a matter of policy, allowed the removal from public view of upwards of 24,000 marijuana possession cases, with 10,000 more to go, the court administrator recently told legislators.

But the push to remove criminal records from public view has long coincided with a push, by some of the same lawmakers, to require more criminal background checks.

This year, Sen. Frank Lombardi is a co-sponsor of Bissaillon's bill to remove the no-felony standard for expungement of multiple misdemeanors. He is also the lead sponsor of a bill, slated for a vote by the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, to require state and national criminal background checks on drivers for hire, including drivers for transportation-network companies.

What does current law allow?

Current state law allows:

• the expungement of a single felony from the record of a first-time offender, 10 years after completion of their sentence,

• the expungement of "fewer than six" misdemeanors from the record of someone with no felony convictions five years after completion of their sentence.

Bissaillon's bill would remove the no-felony requirement for the expungement of multiple misdemeanors.

Why it matters

Under current law, a person with an expunged record can say they have never been convicted of a crime, unless they are applying for certain jobs.

Expungement does not destroy the record – or reverse a conviction. But it removes it from public view.

Bissaillon's stated goal in allowing more expungements is to recognize that individuals have paid their debt to society, and that society recognizes "nobody is the same person they were 20 years ago," he said.

When asked, he acknowledged a second possible benefit. If a judge agrees to the expungement of all their misdemeanors, someone who also had a felony conviction could then potentially "be treated as a first-time offender," eligible for the expungement of that crime as well, he said.

This removes potential obstacles to housing, education, employment and access to certain government benefits, according to Curtis R. Pouliot-Alvarez, from the Public Defender's Office. He also cited research indicating that people with expunged records exhibit an overall crime rate lower than the general population..

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Expunging misdemeanor convictions in RI would be easier under this bill