SB 731, in effect since 2023, gives Californians the safety valve of expungement, which state law calls “records relief,” said an article by Jeanne Kuang in CALmatters.
Although it excludes sex offenders, it regards most felony convictions eligible for records clearance, even convictions for violent crimes. To apply, returned citizens only need to have served their sentences, completed their paroles and probations, and remained arrest-free for two years.
Elizabeth Tüzer, the expungement legal project manager of the AntiRecidivism Coalition, said in the article, “They served their time, and they’ve done their own internal work and diligence to come out the other side … It doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a job, or be able to survive or have housing.”
Tüzer’s nonprofit organization, a provider of prison re-entry services, has facilitated some 200 records relief applications, the article said. Tüzer reported a success rate of 50%. Since the law took effect, Sacramento County has seen 26 felony expungements, Kern County 72, and Riverside County has seen 48, said court spokespersons quoted by CalMATTERS.
In Federalist Paper No. 74, Alexander Hamilton wrote, “The criminal code of every country partakes so much of necessary severity that without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel.”
Written in 1787—88, Hamilton foresaw that the “necessary severity” of law would look too drastic and too divisive if it did not include ways that would allow society and offenders to reconcile after punishment.
As envisioned by Hamilton long before this state existed, the California state law has a rather generous quality. Californians for Safety and Justice called it “among the broadest expungement laws in the nation, including about one million residents with felony convictions.”
CalMATTERS said coming in July, a second feature of the law directs the state Department of Justice to seal from public view non-serious, nonviolent, and non-sexual felony convictions. Returned citizens must have completed their sentences without reoffending in four years.
The automatic aspect of sealing does not require returned citizens with lower-level convictions to find an attorney, pay filing fees, or appear before a judge. CalMATTERS said the state regularly scans all criminal records to identify eligibility for sealing. The state sends a monthly list of the cases to the county courts that had brought charges. The state does the same for some arrest records.
As of July, the state will identify newly eligible felony convictions. The article quoted Californians for Safety and Justice as saying that in July, some 225,000 Californians would qualify for records sealing.
CalMATTERS said since 2022, California has automatically sealed old misdemeanors. Within six months after the law took effect, the law served six million returned citizens by sealing 11 million cases. The Department of Justice called the effort “the largest record relief carried out over such a short time period in U.S. history.”
Tüzer, from the AntiRecidivism Coalition, encouraged returned citizens who do not qualify for automatic expungement to preserve documents for a potential hearing: letters outlining their personal changes since their crimes; support letters from family, community members and employers; and evidence of employment or educational achievements since release.
The Anti-Recidivism Coalition said granting of requests may take anywhere from three months to more than a year. Violent convictions may require hearings; judges may take longer to decide.
For all exoneration requests, judges have the ultimate decision power. They have the latitude to consider evidence of rehabilitation, but may also consider prosecutorial opposition.
The expungements do not delete the cases completely. The state justice department still stores records and would share them with other government agencies, police, and prosecutors in case of rearrests. The department would also share the record with the state Department of Education if the returned citizen applies for work at a school.
Expungements also do not restore the right to own firearms. Under the law, returning citizens running for public office must disclose convictions or apply to work in law enforcement.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “Automatic record relief is ultimately about equity.” He added, “Individuals who have served their debt to society deserve a second chance, and they should not have to hire an attorney to get that second chance.”
