SB117 Alabama 2021 Session

Under existing law, a person who has been charged with a felony offense that does not constitute a violent offense may file a petition to have the criminal records of that offense expunged when the charge is dismissed with prejudice; when the charge has been no-billed by a grand jury; when the charge has been dismissed after successful completion of a court-approved deferred prosecution program; when the charge has been dismissed without prejudice and has not been refiled and more than years have passed without the person being convicted of any crime; or when the person was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense and only committed the offense as a result of being trafficked

Under existing law, when a person has been charged with a felony offense that constitutes a violent offense, the person may only file a petition to have his or her criminal records of that offense expunged if the person has been found not guilty of the offense

This bill would provide that when a person has been charged with any felony offense, the person may file a petition to have the criminal records of that offense expunged when the charge is dismissed with prejudice; when the charge has been no-billed by a grant jury; when the charge has been dismissed after successful completion of a court-approved deferred prosecution program; when the charge has been dismissed without prejudice and has not been refiled and more than 5 years have passed without the person being convicted of any crime; or when the person was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense and only committed the offense as a result of being trafficked

Also under existing law, when a person is eligible to file a petition for expungement, in addition to any court costs or docket fees, the person is required to pay an administrative filing fee of three hundred dollars ($300) that is distributed according to law

This bill would delete the administrative filing fee and prohibit a person from being charged any court cost or docket fee for the filing of a petition for expungement

Relating to criminal procedure; to amend Sections 15-27-2 and 15-27-4, Code of Alabama 1975, to further provide for who may file a petition for expungement; to delete the administrative filing fee associated with the filing of the petition; and to prohibit the charging of any court costs or docket fees associated with the filing of the petition.