MA Supreme Court Rules Expunction Petitions That Meet Requirements Should Have Approval

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled that, if they meet state law requirements, all expungement petitions are entitled to a "strong presumption of favor" of approval. If petitions are denied, judges must include detailed findings that support their decision. For misdemeanors, petitioners must wait three years after fulfilling their sentence to request expungement, but petitioners must wait seven years in the case of felony charges. Major felony convictions violent in nature, such as murder, domestic and sexual assault, and driving under the influence can never be expunged. There is a clear distinction between expunction and the sealing of criminal records. Sealed records can still be viewed by law enforcement, while expunction completely erases the charges from one's criminal history.
This ruling was brought through a case of a man from Boston, who was denied an expunction of his 2003 marijuana possession charge despite the drug being legalized in 2016 in Massachusetts. Greater Boston Legal Services filed a lawsuit in 2019, asking that the courts overturn this decision. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the judge "abused his discretion" in his decision and overturned the ruling in the Boston man's favor.

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