House Bill 28 Proposes Expansion of Alabama Expungement Law To Include Some Convictions
Representative Chris England of Tuscaloosa has introduced legislation to expand the Alabama Expungement law to include convictions for some misdemeanor and felony convictions. House bill 28 would expand the Alabama Expungement law to include convictions for misdemeanor offenses, traffic violations, municipal ordinance violations, and certain Class C and Class D felony convictions. The proposed legislation would also amend the law to explicitly cover cases of youthful offender adjudications.
Misdemeanor Convictions
The proposed expansion of the Alabama Expungement law would allow expungement of misdemeanor convictions, youthful offenders adjudications, misdemeanor traffic violations, and municipal ordinance violations. In order to be eligible for expungement, the following conditions must be met:
- All probation and parole requirements have been completed, including payment of all fines, assessments, costs, or restitution
- Three years has passed from the date of conviction
- There can not be a prior conviction of a violent felony, sex offense, or domestic violence offense
- The conviction cannot be one in which the person was operating a commercial vehicle
- The person was no convicted of any of the offense under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations
Class C and D Felony Convictions
The proposed law also provides for the expungement of some Class C and Class D convictions. Expungement of Class C and class D convictions are subject to the following requirements:
- All probation and parole requirements have been completed, including full payment of any fines, costs or restitution
- Five years has passed from the date of conviction
- The person cannot have a prior conviction for any felony offense
- The offense cannot be a violent felony as defined in Ala. code 12-25-32
- The offense cannot be a sex offense or a domestic violence offense
- The person cannot be a convicted sex offender
- The person cannot have a criminal charge pending at the time they apply for expungement
Filing Fees For Expungement of Convictions
The present Alabama Expungement law provides for a filing fee of $300 for each charge or case expunged. Under the proposed law in House Bill 28, there would be a filing fee of $500 for expungement of a conviction.
Other Changes in House Bill 28
House Bill 28 also calls for the following changes to the current Alabama Expungement law.
- A person would have a right to obtain documentation of the expungement. The documentation would be limited to the case number, the petitioner’s name, a listing of the charges and certification that the case was expunged.
- The proposed amendment adds a provision for expungement where charges have been pardoned by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in cases where the charges is not a violent felony or a sex offense
- The proposed amendment eliminates expungement for cases where a person is found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
The proposed amendments to the Alabama Expungement law would greatly expand the types of charges eligible for expungement by adding cases of convictions for non‑violent, non‑sex offense criminal convictions for misdemeanors and Class C and D felonies. The attorneys at Bradford Ladner LLP have been successful in the past few years in obtaining expungement of numerous criminal matters all over the state where clients charges were dismissed or where they underwent a deferred prosecution program. We are hopeful that the Alabama Legislature will pass this legislation and amend the Alabama Expungement statute. We would encourage anyone interested to contact their local legislator and encourage them to pass House Bill 28.
