House Committee Approves Prior Federal Marijuana Conviction for Automatic Expunction

As of September 21, 2022, a House committee approved a series of bipartisan criminal justice reform bills, HR 2864, HR 5651, and HR 5455. As a whole, these bills aim to provide swift expungement for non-violent drug charges, primarily marijuana, and provide support for those incarcerated under crack-cocaine charges due to past sentencing disparities.

Committee chairman Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) had this to say on Twitter: "The existence of a criminal record, even just an arrest, can present lifetime barriers to obtaining jobs, housing, education and put other opportunities out of reach. Criminal record expungement and sealing is a pathway to employment opportunities for individuals with a criminal record, enabling them to participate fully in their communities."

HR 2864, known as the "Clean Slate Act," mandates the automatic sealing of non-violent, federal marijuana conviction records and penalizes officials who unjustly disclose the information in a sealed record. However, in the case of "certain high-risk occupations," records will still be accessible to employers. The bill will also aim to relieve those who have been arrested under such pretenses but were acquitted. HR 2864 was approved by a 20-12 committee vote.

HR 5651, or the "Fresh Start Act," seeks to issue federal funding to states so that they may create automated expungement systems. The bill itself does not specify the crimes that would warrant automatic expungement, but trends show that there will be a heavy focus on marijuana convictions. After a state submits an application to the U.S. Department of Justice detailing its program, and if approved, it will receive $5 million to support the programs. Up to 10% of the grant can be used for research and planning, while the rest can be used to put the plan into practice and implement any necessary improvements. The money for these grants will be pulled from federal funding, $50 million annually from 2023 to 2027. HR 5651 advanced through the Judiciary in a 22-13 vote.

HR 5455, the "Terry Technical Correction Act'', responds to a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that a law reducing the federal crack-cocaine sentence did not apply retroactively, meaning that those convicted before the sentence shortening would still have to serve their sentence as was handed down to them. HR 5455 clarifies that the 2010 "Fair Sentencing Act" was intended to provide relief to those convicted of crack-cocaine offenses, so any motion denied based on the Court's interpretation of eligibility shall not be considered a denial until after a complete review of the motion.