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Legislators in Arizona passed a bill that authorizes certain arrest, conviction and sentencing records to be sealed.

About The Bill

Arizona’s Senate Bill 1294 (SB1294) created an allowance for the expungement of certain criminal records. The law states that a person may file a petition to have records sealed if they were:

• Convicted of a criminal offense and have since completed all terms and conditions of their sentence, including any monetary obligations.
• Charged with an offense that was later dismissed or resulted in a Not Guilty verdict.
• Arrested but not convicted.

When records are expunged, they are no longer publicly available. However, SB1294 notes that expunged records can be used in future criminal investigations to:

• Establish precedence using prior felony convictions.
• Enhance the sentencing of a subsequent felony.
• Impeach any party or witness for a subsequent trial.
• Show that a person had a previous conviction.

SB1294 goes into effect on January 1, 2023. Learn more.

The Process Of Requesting Expunction

SB1294 explains how individuals may petition to have a record sealed. They must:

• File their request in the court where they were convicted.
• Bring the petition to the court in which they were found not guilty or had their charges dropped.
• Go to the superior court in the county where they were arrested if they did not have a court appearance or charges filed against them.

The court will then review the records and other circumstances before making a ruling. If a hearing is granted, the defendant has a right to be present. A person who has a request approved may be required to pay fines, fees and restitution costs at the court’s demand.

Exceptions And Limitations

Not every type of record will be eligible for expunction. Requests to seal violent and other serious offenses will likely be denied. SB1294 also defines how long individuals must wait before they can file petitions:

• 10 years for a class 2 or 3 felony.
• 5 years for a class 4, 5, or 6 felony.
• 3 years for a class 1 misdemeanor.
• 2 years for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanor.

People who have multiple convictions will have a longer waiting period.

Support For SB1294

This second chance bill was sponsored by Representative Ben Toma. It received support from lawmakers, organizations and residents. Sarah Lageson, a professor at Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice, spoke in favor of sealing eligible records so they are not available to the public.

Lageson said: “Some people say it’s for transparency reasons that we let all this stuff go online. Transparency laws are supposed to function for us to be able to watchdog the government, not watchdog the people that are arrested by the government.”

What Employers Should Know

Organizations that operate and hire in Arizona should be aware of SB1294. Its passing means more residents can petition to have their records expunged. Once a record is sealed, it is no longer available to the public. Hiring managers may not use or consider them when making any employment decisions.

Best practice to prepare for this and other laws is to work with an accredited Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). CRAs take all reasonable steps to ensure the information they provide is current, accurate and reportable. Records that were closed or are otherwise not publicly available won’t be included.

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