Bill Seeks To Help Seal Criminal Records After Time Is Served

COLORADO – By John Herrick for The Colorado Independent. Heather McBroom’s stint with drug addiction follows her to this day.

She said she was studying to be a teacher at Pikes Peak Community College when her friends first gave her methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that, much like Adderall, can improve focus. She became addicted. And like most people in the throes of addiction, she sold the drug to support her habit. In 2000, she was arrested and slapped with a felony, later serving three years in community corrections.

She served her time, she said, but that conviction still dogs her.

Her felony prevented her from becoming a teacher, so she started her own business and now works as a paralegal in Colorado Springs. Even so, some insurance companies won’t hire her because of her record. She can’t notarize documents. And landlords routinely deny her rental applications, she said.

She wants to take responsibility for her crime and be a contributing member of society, she said, but “you have to allow me the right to do that with a clean slate.”

McBroom came to the state Capitol on Thursday to testify in support of a bill that would make it easier for people to seal their criminal records, including any convictions or records of arrests. The House Judiciary Committee postponed a vote while lawmakers make some final tweaks to the bill.

Criminal records can be a barrier to finding work and housing, making it more difficult to transition back into society after incarceration. Studies have found lack of employment is a key reason ex-cons end up back in prison.

Several efforts are underway at the state legislature to prohibit employers, college admissions and landlords from even asking applicants about their criminal records.

“At some point, I think the concept of punishment is supposed to be finite,” said Rep. Mike Weissman, a Democrat from Aurora who is sponsoring the record-sealing bill. He added, “I do not think criminal records ought to be a form of punishment.”

The bill would allow people with certain misdemeanor and felony convictions to petition a judge to have their record sealed. The judge must seal the record so long as certain conditions are met. If the district attorney objects, there would be a hearing. Certain high-level crimes require a hearing and give the judge more discretion. In some cases, individuals with felonies would have to wait years after they complete their sentence before petitioning to have their record sealed.

Records related to certain traffic violations and domestic abuse or sexual offenses would not be eligible for sealing. Law enforcement still would have access to any sealed records. And the bill allows the public to petition to have records unsealed for certain people, such as public officials.

READ MORE in The Colorado Independent.