SB88 Alabama 2025 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Arthur OrrSenator
Republican
Session: 2025 Regular Session
Title: Expungement; hearing requirement further provided for
Summary: SB88 allows expungement hearings to proceed even without objections and adds detailed factors and procedures for granting expungements.
What This Bill Does
Allows a judge to set an expungement hearing even if the prosecuting authority or victim does not object to the petition. If an objection is filed, the court must schedule the hearing for a date not sooner than 14 days and no later than 30 days after the objection is filed and must notify all parties. The court will consider a list of factors when deciding the petition, including the offense's nature and seriousness, circumstances, date of the offense, the petitioner's age at the time, whether the offense was isolated or repeated, rehabilitation efforts, and prior expungements. There is no automatic right to expungement; the court may deny, and it may decide how many cases to expunge after the first; rulings are subject to appellate review.

Who It Affects
Petitioners seeking expungement of criminal records, who may have a hearing held even without objections if they meet the requirements.
Prosecuting authorities and victims, who can file objections to trigger a hearing and who must be notified of hearing dates; their objections influence whether and how the petition is heard.

Key Provisions
A hearing may be held for an expungement petition even if no objection is filed by the prosecutor or victim.
If an objection is filed, the court must set a hearing date not sooner than 14 days and no later than 30 days from the filing of the objection, with notice to all parties.
The court will evaluate petitions using factors such as offense nature, circumstances, date, petitioner's age, whether the offense was isolated, rehabilitation, and prior expungements, and must be reasonably satisfied the petitioner has complied with the chapter's requirements to grant the petition.
The hearing follows court procedure, with evidence rules applying and the right to witnesses as needed; leave of court for witness testimony may be required; the petitioner bears the burden to show compliance with the law.
There is no guaranteed right to expungement; the court may grant or deny and may limit the number of cases expunged after the first; rulings are reviewable for abuse of discretion.
Effective date: October 1, 2025.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Criminal Procedure